


Everything

by nikota



Category: Death Note, Death Note & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action, Alcohol Abuse, Angst, Denial of Feelings, Detective Work, Drug Abuse, Eventual Relationships, Feels, Gen, Hacking, Humor, L takes Light on scenario, M/M, Romance, Self-Harm, Violence, Whammy's House, chocolate and computer games, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-06 05:35:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 75,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1846249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikota/pseuds/nikota
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Light never finds the Death Note AU. L meets Light during a case in Japan. Slowly but surely the younger man enters L's life and changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old story, which I wrote ages ago, but never finished. I recently watched Death Note again and now I really want to finish this story, so I'm giving it a shot. I'm reposting and re-editing from FF.net without a beta, so there might be some mistakes. I hope they won't be too distracting.

It was just a regular case. Someone was committing high-class business murderers in Japan and the police suspected that some sort of an underground mafia organisation was involved. It took L less than a week into the investigation to come up with his own theory that it was a sole murderer committing those corporate assassinations; however he suspected that there was an information weak from the NPA so he refrained from sharing this finding with the Japanese police.

After Yamamoto Takuya, one of Japan's most influential business figures the heir of a large family corporation and a multimillionaire, barely escaped a brilliantly planned car accident, L began suspecting him. The man was 37, a driven and arrogant individual, with a reputed lack of scruples for business. L suspected that Yamamoto was behind the murderers, because he was the future sole owner of IESO and because all the murders had benefited his company. If it weren't for the attempt on Yamamoto's life, L's suspicions would have been about 90%. However, the fact that Yamamoto survived the accident added an additional 5% to the detective's suspicions, so now the number was 95%.

L had researched Yamamoto profoundly and had found out very little about the man's personal life. Takuya was very secretive and unlike other rich bachelors he kept away from the media's attention and kept his dates and amusements privet. L suspected that the man was rather antisocial even though during the regular VIP parties he acted with all the expected social grace. L's shameless surveillance (which included sending agents to spy on him without the Japanese police's knowledge) showed that Yamamoto Takuya rarely took home anyone and many times left early from events. It was also apparent that he was a workaholic and he preferred working over his little empire rather than any sort of hobby like golf or tennis, which were the favourites of his fellowmen. Naturally Takuya was an expert at all of those, for many very important business conversations were done on the golf field… However, many times, shortly after a day golfing with Takuya, businessman fell prey to the 'mafia organisation' which was wiping out important businessman.

L knew all of that, but he wasn't about to spill it to the police, even though he had send Watari to them and communicated with the NPA every day for reports. He had information that Yamamoto's father had sent Takuya to study in the military school along many youngsters who had turned out to become officers in the police. Takuya had maintained his fighting spirit since his school days and he had become one of the most important private benefactors of the Japanese police and military. So, he probably had agents on the investigation force, which L controlled.

The detective also suspected that Takuya continued to train in certain martial arts, most notably in katana fighting. L didn't have concrete evidence for that suspicion, however, he had a strong nudge that Takuya was practicing some sort of sport in that impossible schedule of his, because the man was very well build and his muscle tone was noticeable even through his layers of formal clothing.

L was pretty set on Takuya in his suspicions and was organising outside forces to come into Japan and work for him, while he fed the NPA some insufficient information and pretended for Takuya's informants in the police (because L was certain that there were such) that the case wasn't moving in the right direction. That way he had a better chance of catching the man in the act.

During Whammy's stay in Japan the older English gentleman went by the alias "Watari". When L accepted the case in Japan he sent his field-man there, while working on several other cases at the same time. For the past few weeks without his caretaker L had barely slept. Most of his time was spent looking at video footage from security cameras and photos taken by his agents. He drank glass after glass of tea, unhappy that he had to prepare it for himself and ate gallons of ice-cream, whole cakes and lots of hard candy. Sometimes he felt slightly light-headed or nauseous from it all and sometimes he felt as if he might pass out at any moment, but generally he was just fine. All his cases were making progress; he was managing all his tasks perfectly. He didn't need rest. Perhaps he was a bit of a workaholic as well, that's why he knew so well what to expect of Yamamoto.

L was also content to see his career flourishing and his influence spreading as nations from all over the world literary depended on him and begged for his attention and assistance. His mentor had said to him that he was getting spoiled, however L knew he deserved to be, for all he was capable of doing.

However, sometimes even the world's greatest detective drifted off and L suddenly woke up from a pleasant dream musing of his cases to his phone beeping. It was Watari calling for instructions for the next conversation with the Japanese police. L glanced at the florescent clock and noticed that he had slept for 5 hrs straight. It was late night in England and morning in Japan. The detective gave his field-man orders and then massaged his forehead. How had he fallen asleep like that? He was 25… perhaps he was getting old? L dismissed those thoughts – it really didn't matter how old he was. He checked to see if he had missed anything important (he hadn't for mass murderers always slept more than justice.)

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe Watari walked to the room where the NPA gathered for the meeting with L. Everyone seemed tense as they always did, spilling coffees and fumbling around. In the corridor just outside he saw Soichiro Yagami and a young man with light brown hair and brilliant almond eyes. On first glance there wasn't much similarity between the two Japanese men, however Whammy immediately gathered that this was the chief's son. He had heard about the young Light Yagami during his work with the NPA – apparently the boy was exceptionally bright and shared his father's interest in police work.

When Soichiro noticed Watari, he asked Light to leave, however the younger man protested and somehow convinced his father to stay for the meeting. Whammy didn't mind, he was kind of curious to see just how intelligent that young man really was.

Watari silently set up the laptop and turned on the transmission, pretending not to notice the uninvited presence of the chief's boy. A large gothic L appeared on the white screen and the mechanical voice began.

"I am L. Please report of any new findings."

'Courteous as always,' Watari thought with a smile, which nobody noticed behind the high collar of his suit.

Nine time zones back, L's eyes scanned the brightly lit room through the inbuilt camera of the laptop and within the first instant noticed the new presence. There was a young man in the room, sitting just beside Soichiro Yagami, the chief of the police. That boy, for he was little more than just that, stared fixedly at the camera through which L watched as if boldly meeting the detective's eyes on the screen.

'What is this?' L mused feeling irritated and intrigued. That was a first – normally everyone stared at the large gothic letter on the screen, never at the tiny camera through which L saw them.

"May I interrupt," suddenly it was that same young man raising his hand to interrupt the boring and uninformative police report that was being read.

"Raito!" Yagami Soichiro tried to stop the boy from speaking, addressing him by first name, L noticed. It sounded just like the Japanese pronunciation for the English word "light".

"Father, I believe this is where the police's assumptions about this murderer are wrong…"

"Please sit down and let the report finish. You can speak after…" Soichiro looked embarrassed for his son's behaviour.

"I would like to hear what he has to say," L interrupted the man, who was clearly the boy's father.

Everyone turned around with an incredulous expression on their faces, but it didn't concern the brunette, who stood up and continued with the confidence and ease of someone, who knew they are right and that they would surely get applauded for their words. The cockiness annoyed L, however he wanted to hear what this 'Raito' had to say, since he had mentioned something that caught the detective's attention.

"I believe that the police are wrong to chase after a mafia organisation, because there is no concrete evidence that these assassinations have been done by a group. I think there is only one murderer," Light said.

'Ah, so when you said "murderer" it wasn't a slip of the tongue, but precisely what you meant. Interesting,' L thought leaning forward to see the brunette better.

"What made you come to that conclusion?" L supplied. In reality, he thought that any logical individual would have come to the same conclusion by that time, given the fact that no known Japanese mafia organization was benefiting from those corporate murders. But the fact that only this individual mentioned it, kind of raised L's suspicions towards the newcomer.

"First of all, none of the assassinations were executed at the same time," Light began, but that line disappointed L and he was quick to cut the younger man off.

"All the assassinations were perfectly planned out, they were traps into which each of the victim had to go into, so it doesn't matter if they happened at the same time or not – they could have been scheduled at the same time, whether it was one person who created them or a group," L ranted.

The changing in Light's expression made L shut up and was a small knowing smile playing on those perfectly shaped lips, which made him look even more arrogant (and beautiful) with his carefully arranged hair, tailored suit and commanding posture.

"That is precisely why it was assumed that this is the work of an organisation. It takes a lot of money and connections to set up such traps. However, haven't you too suspected that it might be only one person?"

So, that was where it was going. L felt a rush of feeling go through him and he knew it was adrenaline coursing through his veins, because he might have underestimated that boy. This 'Raito' could ruin everything if the boy didn't watch what he was saying.

"I have considered it," L said carefully and tried to twist the conversation in another direction. "What is your evidence? Do you have a specific individual in mind?"

"I believe it must be someone of the higher class, possibly a company owner or big stock-holder," the trick usually worked, but the teenager avoided the exact question making L feel very irritated. "But let's go back to your opinion, have you or have you not began suspecting a sole individual for these murders?"

Was he openly demanding answers of L? Who the hell did this guy think he was and what made him think that L had to answer?

"I am not familiar with your face," L said. "Would you mind introducing yourself to me and giving me your position here?" L's voice was cold as steel. Sadly the voice scrambler ruined that cutting quality.

"My name is Yagami Raito," Light's tone was authoritative, pissing L off, "I suspect that the Japanese police are after a large corporation owner who is murdering for business benefit, because all the victims were businessman of high importance and no mafia force had any known benefits from these assassinations. I also suspect that for some reason you have been keeping the police in the dark and have hid your real assumptions."

L couldn't believe the audacity of that teenager. Did he not hear L's question? Apparently the intimidation tactic did not work, and the young Yagami used this opportunity to attack the world's greatest detective and make his position with the NPA unstable. L scanned the room to see what effect the young man's words had on the police team and was shocked to see that nobody cared that Light didn't even have a position in the force, because they were more occupied with the idea that L was lying to them.

Light used the pause that followed to rant some more, making L literary sick.

"I am asking because it is the right of the police department to have some transparency in this investigation. You cannot catch the murderer alone and if you need the Japanese police to work for you, you have to entrust them with the truth,"

If Light was really so bright that he figured out everything on his own, and furthermore was playing this game of making L look bad in front of his allies, wouldn't the teenager be smarter than to address the matter in front of everyone? L began suspecting that there was an alternative purpose to the boy's presence – perhaps he was Takuya's agent… But then, how would Takuya know that L was after him and send an agent to speak and say the right things…

'No, you are not doing this for the good of the police – it is written all over you, Yagami,' L thought glaring at the screen in front of him.

However, the rest of the Japanese task force seemed to buy everything 'Raito' just said, because they were making sounds of approval and even demanding to hear L's answer.

L blinked in disbelieve. Nobody had ever pushed him like that. That was another first. How did he let this teenager do that to him?

"I have been working on the probability of this being the work of organised crime," L lied effortlessly despite his predicament. "I haven't completely excluded the possibility of this being the work of one man, however if it was my firm belief I would have asked for files and profiles on likely suspects. While we are at it, does Yagami Raito have any evidence to back up his serious claims against the liability of my work with the Japanese police?

Light smiled with false politeness at the mention of his name. L wanted to kick the screen, because this man was pissing him of. How dare he?

"I don't have evidence, these are only my fears," Light said brushing a hand through his shiny hair, " I am worried that the lack of progress on this case is just too uncharacteristic of the great detective L, who is making so much progress on his other cases, which I follow with great interest… Usually 3 weeks into a case L is already working on a plan to capture his suspects, however on this case, L hasn't even pointed out a suspect. So I began suspecting that L is leading a hidden separate investigation, while using the NPA as cover."

When the final words were said the tension in the room rose to unbelievable rates. Officers were turning from Light to the laptop, incredulous of the boy's statements and at the same time suspicious that his words might be true.

A thousand thoughts flashed through L's head for the few seconds that he assessed the incredible situation he was put it and prepared his answer. Light had mentioned that he had been following L's other cases and it made the detective realized that the problem might be more serious because it meant that Light might pose a real threat. Light gave L the feeling that he had come up with everything he said and was really exceptionally bright. The fact that he had chosen to go against L meant that further investigation on him was needed.

L decided to find out everything there was to know about Light. Only then he could decide if this boy was somebody's pawn or not, and that was determining for the situation. If Light was sent by someone, than the motivations behind his appearance that day were obvious. However, if that was not the case, than there had to be something that this teenager wanted. L had to find out what that was.

"I am working at my best," L said deciding to sacrifice his pride a little and take the insult on his work, because that was the second edge of the sword Light was driving against his throat, "and I have been honest with the NPA. For the lack of progress, I can say that I haven't had enough evidence, for all murders have been disguised as accidents. I can't link them to anyone directly yet."

"So you are saying that you can trust the Japanese police," Light's voice was becoming very annoying.

L hated to have to defend himself.

"I do."

"Then why aren't you here personally working with us? We are all here and you can see our faces, however we can't even hear you voice. How do we know we are working with the real L? What if you are an impostor who is purposefully leading us in the wrong direction?" Light said with his arms crossed in front of his chest, causing a wave of confusion and finally suspicion amongst the task force.

L had never felt so humiliated in his life. He couldn't believe this boy was doing this to him and now truly hated Light's guts. However, he was beginning to see what Light wanted. It was very likely that Light wanted L to show up in person. The question remained – why?

As much as L hated to have to show himself in person for these people, what better way to investigate this new threat – Yagami's son – than being in close proximity to the man himself. There was only so little that school reports and a birth certificate were going to tell the detective about this 'Raito'. L felt that it could prove necessary to get close to the teenager and find out what was the boy's real interest. Obviously the reason for this entire tirade was to draw L out and Light had succeeded which made him better than any rival L had ever had.

"I can be in Tokyo by tomorrow night," L said, his decision made, startling everyone. For a brief moment, L could swear he saw satisfaction flash over Light's face but a mask of acting fell over it immediately.

'This might be interesting,' a far away thought went through L's head as he planned his next moves. There was a possibility that this move might prove dangerous, however L felt up to the challenge.

The meeting ended briefly after L told them he would me making all the arrangements for his visit and left the NPA in the dark once again.

He didn't have to pack anything – he needed only his laptop. Watari called him to ask him if he was certain that the visit was necessary. L could have continued the case without the police, however the new circumstances (and L's desire to take revenge on the nasty way Raito had ruined his front that day) made the detective's mind.

L got on the plane and made the long flight from England to Japan. On the trip he mostly slept, blissfully unaware of how everything was about to change.


	2. A cold place

Yagami Raito was alight with the fire of his victory. He could barely contain himself on his way back from the NPA's offices to his home, where in the privacy of his own room he finally exploded in smugness. He really had enjoyed bantering with L, the world's greatest detective, who apparently wasn't that great or had clearly not expected any challenge from the Japanese police officers since he had planned no back-up plan in case someone foresaw through his scheme. Raito was hoping that it was the latter because if L turned out to be severely overrated than all this effort would have gone in vain. Raito had been through a lot of long hours of researching and hacking for the last 3 weeks or so, since he discovered (during his routine hack of the NPA's database) that L, a mysterious figure he had never heard about beforehand, was summoned to work on the "mafia murders" .

Pandora's sin was one of Raito's biggest faults and his insatiable curiosity was largely to blame for his current state of utter boredom with the world. Raito had tried to learn everything about what surrounds him and very quickly and exceedingly he had managed to learn more than what he needed to know in order to retain any level of fascination with the world. The brunette Japanese man was gifted (cursed) with an exceptional IQ which needed to be fed with information for his mind was forever starving and at some point Raito had become so disappointed with the world, that despair was swelling at the pits of his stomach like poisonous bile.

It had been months… no, years since Raito had felt a bit of alleviation of this stagnating feelings but once he had decided to find out everything one possibly could about this L, he had found himself fascinated with something once more. And this fascination was so intense that it bordered obsession as the nineteen year-old found out more and more about what appeared to be an outstanding individual, a real genius, a man who had achieved more than any man of his time had managed, a man who stood for justice, and who was needed by governments from all over the world to solve impossible cases. He was the world's greatest detective, and he went only by a single letter alias – L.

L, Eru, a letter that had occupied Raito's mind like a mantra for the past three weeks, the letter that would not let him sleep with curiosity and uncontrollable fascination. Raito wanted to find him, he wanted to find out who he was, what he was, how he did his work, was he really that smart or was it all a fraud. Raito wanted to figure out all these secrets and if L didn't disappoint, perhaps Raito wanted to get closer to this person, because if L didn't disappoint than he was perhaps the only person who Raito could ever find worthy of his interest.

Raito had never lacked companions, he was always suffocated with the attention of others, who flocked to him because of his brilliance, his good looks, and what they thought was his perfect personality. In reality it was Raito's perfectly crafted mask, which he had figured out how to wear since he was 4. It took a 4 year-old Raito Yagami to understand that if a person behaves in a certain way they are more likely to get rewards and win the appreciation and cooperation of others. So, all his life Raito pretended and by the age of 19 he was more skilled than half of Hollywood. He was an actor with life as his stage and he performed everyday for everyone. He even performed when he was alone, for practice's sakes, because Raito was always practicing and he was always perfect.

That's why after intense hacking of every website he could find relevant information about L, finding out about all the cases he had worked on and was working on, Raito looked for ways to bring the elusive detective closer. Ironically, it was L's own fault that Raito found such an easy way to bring him out. Anyone could have seen what L was doing with the Japanese police. Why, was the question, which Raito wanted to have answered, because he couldn't understand L's motives for hiding things from the NPA. However, judging by the detective's record, Raito was fairly certain that L had a good reason to do this and it was probably furthering the investigation. However, Raito didn't really care about the murders case, what he cared about was meeting L in person. That was Raito's goal and he didn't care if he had to set back this investigation even if a few people ended up dying in the process as a consequence. They were all corrupted corporate pigs in the teenager's opinion, so with or without them, it was all the same, as long as Raito got what he wanted. And what he wanted was to meet another mind at his level, someone worth his time.

Because Raito had always been so very lonely.

When L arrived in his hotel in Tokyo Watari had already prepared the equipment the detective would require for his cases while he was staying in Japan. The dark-haired man wasn't planning on staying more than a few days but he still needed the basic minimum of monitors, VCRs, laptops, servers and telephones in order not to lag on any of his cases. L had arranged to meet with a power-team of selected members from the NPA on the following morning, which meant that he had about 13 hours to work before they arrived at his hotel. The detective really needed to get on with it, because he had lost almost a day to traveling (just because of this little capricious brat and his unbelievable ability to put L, the world's three greatest detectives, in a small corner and beat him while he was at it!).

L's blood was still rising when he thought about the humiliation he had suffered at the hand of this Yagami Raito but L quickly dismissed the feeling, because he was better than that. L did not feel humiliation. L did not feel anger. L was impartial and objective and he dealt with obstacles coolly and methodically, and that's how L was going to deal with this Light-o because that's what he was – another obstacle in the case, another wild card. L was used to this type of things, so this thing was not going to be any different.

L was perfect and he had always been driven by his purposes only, so when L finally arrived to the other side of the world, he didn't take the time to look out the windows and take in the new sights and sounds of Tokyo, in stead he was on the internet working on his cases. In the hotel, he just popped on the first arm-chair in sight, not paying attention to it's colour or texture, nor it's position nor it's surroundings. All that captured L's formidable attention was his laptop balancing on his knees and a tiny fraction devoted to making sure the spoonful of sundae entered his mouth as he absent-mindedly ate what Watari provided.

"I take it that you had a pleasant flight," Watari chose to speak to him.

L didn't lift his eyes from the screen, however he had to suppress the little frown of irritation that was trying to manifest itself on his forehead. It was obvious to him that his old mentor wanted to waste his time by discussing something, most likely what had happened in the NPA room the day before. The little question about the flight was just another line that served to lead up to that part. So why couldn't Watari just cut to the chase at least for once? Couldn't he see that L had a lot to catch up on?

"Yes," L tried to humour him with a response to that question. In fact he didn't even remember his journey, it's insignificance was already making it lost in the bottomless pool of knowledge and information that was the detective's brain.

"I am glad to hear that. I was slightly worried when you arrived and you didn't even look at me as a sense of greeting," Watari said and that caused the scrawny black-haired youth to jolt internally a bit. Well, he hadn't known that Watari was so sentimental. That line had surprised him. A second surprise in 2 days – that was not good. Perhaps L was losing his touch? Slight panic cruised through the man's veins for a split second before he reassembled himself internally.

"I am sorry for my lack of courtesy, I was merely deep in thought about my current cases," L responded without missing a beat. "Is it too late to greet you now?"

Watari gave him a look and then he sighed deeply. When he spoke he addressed L with the alias they had chosen for his time in Japan.

"It's not too late, however, Ryuuzaki, I am getting a bit worried. It seems to me that you are growing more and more…" Watari trailed off.

L just stared wide-eyed and expressionless at the older gentleman, wishing sorely to be able to tell him just how unimportant Watari's concerns about L's personality were, and how many more important things L had to do, besides listening to Watari air his mouth. However L stayed silent and waited patiently. That was something he owed to this man, who had taken him in, when L had been one small pathetic pile of nothing, and had given him the opportunity to become what he was today.

"… or perhaps I should say less and less concerned with the small things, such as common courtesy," Watari continued. "You look tired and paler than when I left you in England. Have you been sleeping at all?"

A horribly boring conversation about L's health and the way he had been skipping meals, eating only the most sugary of junk food, and drinking excessive amounts of tea followed, where L responded blankly and mechanically with one syllable answers to Watari's endless questions.

Finally the silver-haired gentleman seemed satisfied with scolding L's self-care techniques and he began speaking about what this really was about.

"So, what happened yesterday during the meeting? I think you were caught unprepared by the son of Soichiro Yagami," Watari's voice was not mocking, if anything it was sort of grandfatherly and conversational. L hated it when it sounded that way because it managed to make him feel bad enough to answer the older man more thoughtfully than he would normally.

"My theory is that Yagami Raito is a gifted individual and he has somehow received access to police files, as well as files on myself and through logic deduced that I suspect somebody else, while claiming to suspect the same as the NPA. I don't know his motivations yet, but I am certain that his reason for yesterday's show was partially to draw me out. I am about to run a full investigation on his files… as soon as I am finished speaking to you," L ranted, finishing in what he hoped would coax Watari to leave him alone.

Watari seemed to get the hint, but he kind of huffed and smiled in a weird way before he politely excused himself and told L that he would leave him to his important tasks.

This behaviour was uncommon for his old mentor and highly suspicious. Was Watari laughing at him? That could only mean that the older man knew something that L didn't, but would refuse to tell him. Given the topic of the conversation it could only involve that brat Yagami Raito.

L suppressed another frown with much more effort this time and began chewing his thumb trying to supress the negative emotions. This was proving to be an exceptionally stressful week. But worst of all, having Watari behave this way – it was a blow which the dark-haired man hadn't expected. However, he wasn't going to go ask about it. That's not what L did – L didn't ask questions – he figured things out.

So L looked back at his laptop and frantically began researching the NPA, the members who were going to meet with him on the other day, their backgrounds, and of course Raito.

L began at 11:30 pm and told himself that he won't spend more than 30 min on reading Raito's school records, extra-curriculum achievement, medical reports etc., however the more he read the more his fascination grew and the more he researched. It was quite obvious that Raito had an exceptionally high IQ, and he had passed his university entrance exams with a perfect score, he was his year's representative in every year of his studies, he had achieved excellency in every field he had participated in, from athletics of arithmetic, and he was studying Law in university, following his father's footsteps.

Soichiro Yagami must be so proud, L thought as he bit off a too large piece of his thumb nail and the digit began bleeding. The detective stuck the finger in his mouth and absent-mindedly sucked the blood away. The distant sense of stinging was soon completely forgotten as thoughts a bit poisonous began swirling in his mind.

It looked plainly suspicious how Raito was perfect in every discipline he ever engaged in, there had to be something wrong with that. Nobody was perfect, or at least L didn't want to think that somebody was perfect, while, he himself, had flaws.

'Perfect grades, perfect family, perfect personality, perfect looks…' L contemplated as he stared at a passport-sized photo of Raito's face on his screen. Those almond eyes were shining so genuinely even though the expression was overall serious and could pass for a formal picture, however Raito's eyes were smiling. He looked so charming… it made L sick.

It infuriated L that he had been cornered by some pretty-faced, 19 year-old, spoiled child. He had to do better that this, he had to re-establish his reputation and take revenge on that little…

L navigated away from the page. What was wrong with him? He never thought like that and he wasn't going to begin that now. He shuffled through different pictures of Raito and took in his body, posture, body language and dressing style. All of which too perfect.

'Yagami Raito, what do you want?' L mused in his head.

L had been staring at the university's entrance ceremony picture of Raito giving a speech for quite some time when he accidentally caught a sight of the clock on his monitor. It was 6:35 am!

L's eyes widened in disbelief – he had spent about 7 hrs on Raito! That was not just a waste of valuable time, it was also a bit troubling, because he hadn't found that much about him, in stead he had been brooding on each piece of evidence for too long.

L told himself that he had to work on his other cases, but somehow it was almost impossible to move from the Raito topic. As new and new questions popped up in L's head he had to keep checking and double checking the information he had dug out about this boy. But it was all going round in circles to the fact that Raito was too perfect to be normal and that he clearly wanted something despite the fact that he seemingly had everything. L had to find out what Raito wanted because the teenager had proven to be more destructive than L had believed possible.

That's why by 9 am L was still on the same topic. Then, startled by the tray of fresh croissants, passion fruit cheese-cake, Japanese cherry short-cake, muffins, sugar cubes and coffee, which Watari brought and indicated that he had 1 hr before the NPA group arrived, he had to do a quick update on the case and come up with several back up plans for each reply to the possible questions that would be thrown at him.

Finally by 10 am, L was covered in crumbs, and was chewing furiously as the circles underneath his eyes seemed cut out of black rock on his pale as marble skin and there was a knock on the door.

L stared in the general direction of the entrance as Watari stood up and went over to open the door.

L could hear the greetings from the hall and he quickly devoured the muffin in his mouth, sloppily wiping away the sugar and crumbs from his face but did not bothering to dust his long-sleeved white shirt.

Footsteps approached and the dark-haired detective rose to his feet. He made a few steps forward from the armchair, his spine making sickening cracking noises as he moved for the first time in 12 hrs. His feet felt heavy but L ignored the state of his body, his attention on the first people entering the living room of the presidential suit, which L occupied in the five-star hotel, which Watari had chosen for them. The detective took in his surrounding for the first time since he had arrived in a matter of seconds. The only reason why he bothered was because now they became relevant, since they were the setting for his interaction with the selected few of the NPA crew. The room was spacious, with an amazing view of Tokyo revealed from a floor to ceiling window that ran along the entire wall of the living room. There were heavy beige drapes pulled on both sides of this marvel, which allowed for the space to be closed, in case the inhabitants of the apartment ever got bored with the high-floor view of the city. There was a coffee table next to the armchair, which L had occupied and alongside that there were two spacious couches that could easily hold about 8 people. The furniture was exquisite but the clutter of equipment that was deposited everywhere kind of ruined the idealistic look of the scene. Next to L's armchair there was the half-eaten tray of sweets food, and there were crumbs and coffee stains everywhere. L realised that he must look like such a slob, a realisation that hit him for the first time, because he had never had to bother about what people would think if they ever saw him. Nobody ever saw him, apart from the few that worked for him. And they did not judge. But these new people were going to judge him, he knew that all too well and he mentally fortified himself to rebuke it all. He dismissed these thoughts; he would never care about what others thought about him. It wasn't as if any of their opinions mattered anyway, he thought, looking at the faces of those who walked in one by one inside his room.

He recognised them all instantly – Soichiro Yagami – the chief, Mogi, Aizawa, Matsuda (a slightly surprising choice), and somebody else was also entering…

When L saw the flash of caramel coloured hair entering last and catching the light in such a spectacular display of beauty, the detective almost felt his food going up his throat. The owner of said shiny hair tossed the trestles back with an easy and slightly arrogant gesture, revealing a face so angelic and so dangerous at the same time, that L's insides turned cold. It wasn't fear that was griping the frail detective in that moment, no, it was something else chilling him to the bottom of his heart when he finally met those honey coloured beautiful eyes that looked back at his with a flash of confusion, before adopting that mask of confidence which they always wore.

L stared Raito down while the other was doing the same to him. In that moment that seemed like an eternity the two of them met and they both knew that they are rivals.


	3. Rival

Watari observed as the NPA members gawked in disbelief at L. They were all frozen with their mouths agape, as if waiting for a signal to snap out of it, but none came. The room was quiet and when the older gentleman sought the eyes of his black-haired liege, he found L staring fixedly at the Yagami boy, who was staring back just as hard. L didn't seem to notice anyone other than that individual, and Watari wrote it off as L's slightly obsessive and meticulous nature. Most probably the black-haired youth had found something minute out of the ordinary with the brown-haired boy, something that nobody else would have noticed, and was now obsessing over it.

As always, Watari was there to compensate for L's lack of social abilities.

"This is L," Watari supplied and as the officers recovered from their state of shock and shakily delivered their names, L's eyes remained trained on Raito's.

"A pleasure to meet you," L said, his voice cold and monotonous making the line sound as insincere as it was.

This behaviour seem to further outrage the Japanese men, all but Yagami Raito who seemed to easily hold his nerve as L's piercing black eyes didn't leave his.

"You are Yagami Raito, the son of Yagami Soichiro, the one who has absolutely no position at the NPA but was there to confront me on Thursday," L said in the same tone, his disinterest in the rest of the team becoming almost unbearable.

Couldn't the boy see how they were all looking at him at that point!

"It is true that I don't have a position at the NPA yet," Raito tossed his trestles out of his eyes gracefully, "but I am studying law in Tou Oh university and I am hoping to work by my father's side one day."

"You managed to avoid the question perfectly," L commented emotionlessly, his face as blank as possible, "however I would still like my answer now."

"You never asked a question," Raito answered. His voice was not challenging in the least. It sounded sincere and Watari almost wanted L to let the boy off the hook.

"Gentlemen, would you please follow me," Watari decided to take the initiative of inviting the team to the work area, which he had prepared for that meeting, given that L didn't seem to be snapping out of his… moment.

Raito followed the rest, giving a small dismissive smile to L, one that nobody else saw but it managed to drive L up the wall.

The detective felt a mix of raging and conflicting emotions – confusion, anger, humiliation, bitterness and humiliation, but at the same time a strong thrill, curiosity and exhilaration. He had almost never dealt with people from so close either, so it was more than thrilling to have an exchange of this sort in person non the less.

But how did Raito manage to say such simple things and still best him in these little arguments? L could bet that even Watari was on Raito's side right now, and that was just not ok. L had never met anyone like Raito. Just what made Yagami Raito so exceptional? L had to find out and understood full well that he was spiralling down into a new obsession with a 1000 kilometres per hour.

By the time L dragged his bare feet to his couch they were all seated around the coffee table Watari had prepared for their meeting. He noted where Raito was sitting next to the detectives, while the chief was sitting on a single couch directly opposite of L's.

Yagami Soichiro began briefing L on things that were completely irrelevant to L's investigation on Tanaka. L had been running his own investigation for quite some time now, while he had indeed used the Japanese police as a cover in order to give the Japanese businessman a sense of security. However, now that Light had spoiled this plan, L had to pretend to be interested in what the chief of police had to say, and to pretend to work with them a bit harder.

Reflecting on the progress of the case, L noticed that he hadn't made any new progress since that online NPA meeting on Thursday, two days ago. It seemed that since that day the detective's focus had shifted almost entirely from Tanaka to Raito Yagami.

That was a bit alarming, however L dismissed it. He was automatically answering the questions, which the police were directing at him until Light opened his plum lips and L's full attention returned to the conversation.

"How would you justify the murders if they were not done by a mafia organisation?"

L's black eyes met Raito's alluring chocolate ones and the detective felt a slight pang in his stomach. Was this boy beginning to unnerve L? There was definitely challenge in Raito's eyes, and L had to fight back the desire to say his true observations of the case, just to prove to this little brat that he knew what he was doing.

"I believe that an organisation is most likely committing these murders, Yagami-kun," L said, almost tasting the mockery and further humiliation he would have to face for this answer. Raito wasn't going to let it pass, and most likely Raito knew that L was holding back and was putting him down in front of others hoping to make L crack and spill out his beans. And that just wasn't going to happen. L would prevail at the end of the day.

Raito gave him that dangerous look he was so good at, decisively making L's chest flutter. That brunette boy had it in him to make L feel so uncertain. That was a really bad sign.

"I was hoping to discuss the theory that this could be the work of an individual," Light said, his voice silky and devoid of its sharp edge.

"If Yagami-kun has any findings he would like to share with us, I would be willing to listen," L avoided the subject.

"Let's try to formulate some ideas together," Raito proposed in a tone that was supposed to motivate.

L wanted to throw up at that but he kept his expressionless mask.

"Please keep your brainstorming sessions for the breaks between your classes, Yagami-kun," L responded with a voice colder than steel and enjoyed just how harsh it sounded. "We have gathered here to discuss actual information, and your father and the rest of the NPA are constantly engaged in tasks that can prevent more deaths from occurring, not to mention how precious my own time is. If you have nothing to contribute to these discussions, please do not come to the future ones."

That shut Yagami up. In fact it caused a rather unnatural silence in the room as it seemed to have shut everyone up.

The meeting didn't last much longer as the NPA quickly run over their reports. Upon their departure L explained his new alias "Ryuuzaki" and announced to them that he would be staying in Tokyo for the remain of the case and that the team could find him at any time through contacting Watari's private number. L explained that he would like no information on his location or description to leak even to other personal from the NPA. L was planning to move hotels as soon as the group left and moving every few days while he was in Tokyo. However, the team didn't need to know that yet.

As everyone was preparing to exit, L's eyes sought out the back of Raito's head, mildly curious whether he would ever see the arrogant teen again. The chances that he had scared him off were quite high now.

However, as Raito put on his shoes and pulled on his jacket, the brunette turned his gaze to L with a glint of amusement and challenge in his slight smile.

"I have taken it as a challenge, Ryuuzaki," Raito said over his shoulder. "I will have a theory and a suspect for the next time we meet."

Now that was surprising. And unnerving. L really wanted to frown now, but instead he chewed on his thumb helplessly.

"That would mean that Light must present his theories during the online sessions with the NPA, because no further personal meetings have been scheduled yet," L replied with an uninterested voice.

"That is the plan," Raito said and grinned.

After that with a slight bow he exited after the rest. L's eyes followed his straight back before the door closed off his line of sight. The detective almost felt an unexplainable sense of loss.

That night Raito committed to trying to hack L's system. He knew the detective's location, so it wasn't going to be too much trouble, or so the brunette thought. However, after checking every computer hooked to the wireless network of the Hilton hotel of Tokyo, Light found out that the messy excuse of a detective had checked out an hour after the team's departure that day.

"Damn it!" Raito growled between his teeth and banged his fist on his dad's computer desk.

'Please keep your brainstorming sessions for the breaks between your classes, Yagami-kun,' L's cold voice rang in Raito's head.

That arrogant bastard! Raito felt his blood seethe remembering how this guy, who seemed to be little older if at all than himself, had made himself appear so high and mighty and had diminished Raito's capabilities to those of a mere college student. L had mocked him and pointed out his inferior status, which had driven Raito absolutely insane.

Raito had had to shut up then, because he couldn't risk opening his mouth for the things that were threatening to come out at that moment. He had never felt so humiliated in his life, so underestimated, by such an important figure as the world's greatest detective above all!

Raito had wanted to impress the man, show his worth after all, but in stead he had been met by a complete dislike by this man, who had turned out so childish and immature, that in stead of appreciating Raito's talent, he had become all aggressive. Well, two could play that game. Raito had challenged him only for the purpose of bringing him out, and hadn't planned to continue with that sort of behaviour. He had aimed to be very civil and play his good-stary-eyed-college-student-with-incredible-intelligence part, but hadn't expected to find the detective was still bitter about their first confrontation. Apparently that man really had hated having to reveal himself in person. Raito wasn't that surprised now that he had seen him. L seemed like he had lived alone for quite a long time and he didn't seem to have any grasp of social behaviour. The way he had stared at him that day… it had been almost frightening. The way he had ignored the rest of the team had been more than just rude, it had been disturbing and had made everyone question L's sanity.

But that was beside the point. If that was the world's greatest detective, Raito was surely going to prove to him just how irreplaceable and special he really was. He was going to find out whom L really suspected. Now it was time for the teen to go to bed - he had stayed up until 4:21 am for nothing.

Quietly the teen made his way out of his dad's study. Soichiro had stayed the night at his work as usual, so sneaking into his room and hacking through his computer hadn't been a problem. The problem was that Raito couldn't possibly find L's computer in all of Tokyo if he didn't have a clue where the detective was. So that ruled out the option that Raito could just read who the real suspect was in the detective's notes. Raito had to get to real work on the next day and come up with a theory that would blow that little bastard's mind…

Raito quietly closed the door of his own room behind him. L really wasn't what Raito had expected at all.

The teen lied in his bed gracefully, despite his urge to just throw himself on the sheets and pass out. He had imagined a much older, respectable-looking man to be the world's greatest detective. Finding a guy so young, with a messy bird's nest hair, crumbs covered plain shirt and no socks, slouching around the Hilton hotel, and biting his nails while he sat like a gargoyle and talked with no regard for a person's feelings was definitely not what Raito had hoped for.

Quite honestly, L was creepy, unpleasant and unnerving. The way he stared with his opaque dead black eyes was the worst part. Light had felt as if an enormous spectral hand might come out of that void gaze to tear right through him and extract his insides.

However, even if L didn't show any emotions through his voice or expression, Raito was pretty certain that the man had nerves, at least for some things. L had cared enough about this case and his reputation to come all the way to Japan and to show himself. That could be exploited.

Raito sighed. He had to stop thinking about L or he might never fall asleep. It was 5 am already…

Meanwhile L absentmindedly reached his spoon only to find nothing but empty space where his cake had been. It took the detective a few seconds of scraping the air to his right before he turned his head in annoyance just in time to see Watari pushing away the tray of sweets L had set next to his work-couch.

"I am not finished with that," L craned his neck after his old mentor, feeling a tinge of horror at seeing his cake taken away from him.

Watari stopped and calmly faced him.

"Don't you think you have had enough for now? This is the third cake you have eaten tonight."

"You never counted my cakes before," L responded a bit sourly. "I need that to think."

"It seems to me that you have been consuming more sugar than normal, Ryuuzaki. You seem stressed and I am worried about you."

"You have never been so concerned about me either," L frowned so slightly that only Watari, who had known him for long enough could tell the change in the detective's expression.

"I have started being concerned since you won't allow me to check your medical health anymore," Watari stated matter-of-factly. "The world can't afford to lose you yet, L."

"Yes, I suppose you are right," L mused, dreading the possibility that the conversation might shift to his successors.

"Speaking of that, have you thought about who might succeed you?"

L felt strong irritation. They had spoken about this so many times, and yet Watari insisted on asking almost every time they interacted.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't had the time to think of things unrelated to my cases. As you know I have 6 ongoing cases of international importance and I am working extra hard on all of them," L said, proudly feeling like the king of bullshit.

"But you apparently have enough time to be thinking about Yagami Raito," Watari cut him sharply, causing L's eyebrows to rise behind his black fringe in disbelief.

"What makes you say that?" L felt extremely vulnerable all of a sudden. He didn't know how to deal with a situation of this sort; he had never been accused of thinking of somebody that wasn't connected to a case before.

"You have his picture on your computer screen," Watari pointed out.

L's eyes widened. However in a millisecond, L deduced that the older man was able to see the reflection of his screen in the panorama window behind him. It was still dark outside and the light was probably reflecting like in a mirror from the glass.

"Just because I have his file opened doesn't mean that I'm thinking of him," L said, bringing his thumb to his lips.

"Of course not," Watari said evenly. He seemed tired. "Well, think about your successors. Now if you excuse me, I would like to retire for the night. It is getting kind of late."

The older man really did look tired. Perhaps that was why he was so difficult, L thought.

When his old mentor exited the room, along with the cake, which L decided was a small price to pay for being left alone, L checked the time. 5:15 am.

L minimized the files on Yagami. He had come to some decisions before Watari had disrupted him. Despite the probability of Raito being Tanaka's spy was below 1%, he was going to have some cameras installed in Raito's room in order to see if the teen was doing anything suspicious.

Watari was probably going to say that monitoring Tou Oh University's surveillance cameras would be way too much for researching an "innocent" individual, so L was going to pressured to have the entire Yagami house bugged in stead. With the exception of the other family member's private rooms and the bathroom and shower, of course. Even Watari wouldn't consent to that.

L smiled as he chewed his thumb lost in the pleasant musings of how he was going to show Raito Yagami just who he was messing with. And soon the detective was fast asleep on the couch.


	4. A Proposition

"There doesn't seem to be any progress on this case." Soichiro Yagami said.

Behind him L could see Light. Light was just there, behind his father, the chief of police. And even though he wasn't smirking, nor was he looking at the camera in an impish way, L just knew that this speech had been Light's idea.

For the last few days it was all the brunette brat had been doing…

It was rather impressive how the son of the police chief was not just a smart-ass protégé, but also a skilful manipulator. He could make people believe what he wanted them to believe. He could influence his own father to act in the exact way Light wanted him to act.

And L just knew that Light was feeling so smug about it…

L wondered if Light believed he could solve the case in that way. Sure, he was an amazing actor, and he had the power to raise the spirits, but apart from the fact that he had deduced by himself that the murders must have been done by an individual, instead of a mafia organization, Light hadn't done any investigating. He couldn't call himself a detective for figuring out what, as L thought, any half-wit should have been able to see. However, the boy clearly thought of himself as extremely important, for he kept showing up at the NPA meetings, always bringing up his own opinions and putting oil into the flame. Now the whole police force thought L was dumb, for he wasn't following the simple logic that Light kept reinforcing.

It had been almost a week since the meeting between L and the selected few from the NPA. And in fact, no progress had been made. However, Raito had done one good thing with all of his behaviour. Since that day in which Raito had confronted him for the first time, the murders had stopped.

That made it very unlikely that Light was working for Tanaka – it looked quite the opposite really. Light had unwittingly pushed the investigation forward by revealing to L that Tanaka most certainly had a spy in the police department.

However that made Light a possible target. If the young man didn't stop with his overly righteous and naïve way of confronting the issue head on, alarming the whole police of the loopholes in their investigation, there was a big chance Light could become a big inconvenience for Tanaka. And unlike L, Light's location was easily retrievable. Light could easily become the victim of another freak accident, seemingly unrelated to the high-class murders associated with the case.

If that happened, Tanaka could be cornered, because Light was a victim, which could be predicted. L could secretly tape Light and install all sorts of tracking devices and audio bugs on the college student, allowing L to have pretty much all the information and evidence he would need to solve the case.

Indeed, things could work out perfectly if L allowed Light to keep confronting him, and then use Light's murder to his own advantage. However, L couldn't find it in himself to do it. True, collateral damage was something that L was used to - Light was an innocent civilian, the type that L sometimes had to sacrifice for the common good of the world. These sorts of situations had happened before. But Light, despite his faults towards L, that made him intolerable, and made L wish that he could just die, and be erased from the face of the planet, was somehow… L couldn't finish that sentence even in his mind.

But the truth was that for the first time in his life L was considering sacrificing a case for the sake of a single individual. L didn't know what had gotten over him... Meanwhile the meeting was still going on and L wasn't really using more than a small percentage of his brain to answer the police's questions. Instead, he was formulating a plan.

L endured the meeting to its end. However by the time it was finished he was boiling with anger and other confusing emotions. He hated how Light managed to make a fool out of him in front of everybody. L couldn't understand why he still wanted to save that audacious boy.

If he wanted Light to survive, he needed to have a word with him and tell him what that oblivious, blinded by his pride, little bastard failed to see (and if he was half-as-intelligent as he made it up to be, he should have seen it by now) – there was a spy in the NPA, and Light was going to get it coming to him if he didn't shut up.

L pulled out his cell-phone and dialled the chief of police. He could see the older man separating from his son after the meeting on a security camera feat, which L had hacked into. L watched Light walk away and kept track of his father as the phone began to ring.

"Yagami speaking." The chief's voice came from the other side of the receiver.

"This is L." L responded, knowing the voice scrambler would mix his tune to a toneless mechanic sound.

There was a gasp on the other side of the line. L could see chief Yagami almost grab himself by the chest.

"L… why are you calling right after we had a meeting?" The policeman asked.

L hated having to explain himself. Wasn't it obvious?

"I wanted to have a word with you in private…"

After L questioned Soichiro, his suspicions that the ideas, which the chief had expressed, had come all from Light were confirmed.

"Light is a very smart boy," Soichiro sounded nervous, trying to justify himself. "He has helped on a number of cases before, and he has always been right. He has been helping me since he was 16!"

'I started solving my own cases when I was 11,' L thought acidly, however he refrained from commenting on that. Instead he continued;

"I understand. I have reasons to believe Light Yagami is a multi-developed genius," L said calmly, but he wasn't quite prepared for the happy and prideful gasps which followed from the boy's father. Obviously the chief was trying to contain himself, however he wasn't quite succeeding, in L's point of view.

"It's a very rare phenomenon to have someone showing multiple talents of genius, so I cannot say for certain, but judging on my research on your son, it appears that it might be the case."

"L… I… I don't know what to say." Soichiro said the obvious.

"That's why I'd like to have a word with Light. I would like to test his limits and see if he can be of any more help than he already is." L quickly continued to cut short any words that might come from the proud father.

"Alright… that sounds…" Soichiro began but was rudely interrupted by L, who was losing the little patience he had.

"Could you relay to Light that I am inviting him for a professional chat over dinner tomorrow at an address, which I would provide once he has accepted the offer?"

Soichiro agreed to do that and after the unnecessary pleasantries, L finally could hang up.

L massaged his pale temples and closed his eyes into his hand. Dealing with people was exhausting for him. It made his brain work in so many directions at the same time – calculating their intentions, going through the correct ways to respond and all the social rules and regulations, translating his words from one language to another, toning down what he was saying in order to be understood, explaining… dealing with their emotions, having to react to them... How he wished he never had to deal with people ever.

"Why are you having dinner with Yagami Light?" Watari had a way of talking about Light that always made L feel as if he caught red-handed doing something wrong.

In order to throw someone like Watari off, who had an IQ of over 135, L knew he had to be extra sneaky, create a web of complex and possibly self-excluding arguments until the other person was confused enough to just let it drop.

"There is a very slight chance that Yagami Raito could be Tanaka's spy," L began evasively. "The percentage is so low, that I'm inclined to rule out this possibility completely."

"Why are you inviting him to dinner than?"

"I think he might get in trouble if he continues to flaunt his intelligence in front of the NPA. I think he might get targeted by Tanaka's people if he keeps it up."

"So you are going to let him in on your real investigation?"

"Not really, I would let him come to his own conclusions without claiming anything." L said, playing with his fork over the empty cake plate on his knees.

Watari kept tidying up his space quietly before speaking.

"So you want to protect him, even though he has been such a nuisance to you?"

"Well, I don't have anything to gain from him getting hurt," L lied effortlessly, hoping that Watari's humanity would prevent him from countering that statement, even if he sensed that it was a lie. "He keeps putting himself in danger through being the herald of the bad news for the police department. I don't see why he's doing it anyway – surely he doesn't need to impress them any further. His father is the chief in office. He doesn't need to…"

"Perhaps he isn't trying to impress the NPA," Watari said looking directly at him. L secretly swallowed hard. He wasn't sure he liked it when Watari began speaking to him like that. "Perhaps he was trying to impress you."

"Do you think so?" L said, without an inquiring intonation in his voice.

"It's quite possible." Watari said and finally released L from his gaze. Watari was the only person who somewhat humbled L and the detective hated it when his ex-guardian used that power on him. Then again, L had a lot to owe to that man, so he tolerated him as much as possible.

"Do you really think he is so intelligent, but fails to see that he might be putting himself in danger by being the bearer of the bad news?" Watari continued. He had a point.

"If that's the case…" L felt slightly embarrassed, "… than there is no point in me meeting with him. Surely he can deal with this himself… "

L felt a bit dejected for some reason. Had he subconsciously wanted to be the one to 'save' Yagami Light? What nonsense.

"So you are not going to meet with him?"

"No, please cancel the appointment for me." L curled in on himself and turned slightly away from his old guardian.

"It wouldn't be very nice if you invite him to dinner and then cancel on the date of the event."

"Find an excuse – you are good at that." L said somewhat bitterly.

Watari was quiet for a few seconds and then he seemed to be making himself more comfortable by closing in on L. L felt dread coming over him. Whatever was coming next couldn't be good.

"I know that you are not the most sociable person in the world, and you dislike competition, however what if you get him to work for you, instead of against you?" Watari was leaning closer to him, wearing a gentle, friendly smile. It did nothing to soothe the anxiety, which L felt. He didn't like people in his personal space at all. Watari knew that and used it against him.

"Just a thought." Watari smiled and walked away to collect the empty dishes from L's table.

The detective relaxed. He allowed himself to unfold from the very tight ball he had become to a more natural crouch on his sofa.

What Watari was suggesting was incoherent. L didn't need anyone's help on this case. And having a Yagami Light work against him wasn't anything that L couldn't handle. He had handled deranged killers with borderline supernatural powers in the past, so what was this boy compared to them?

Strangely, in the back of his mind even L couldn't deny that to him, Light could turn out to be the worst challenge he had ever encountered, for reasons that he was not yet ready to face. And that such a charismatic talker could do the talking and dealing with people for him with the type of excellency, which L required...

Watari did not cancel the dinner, and L did not confront him about it. They were well used to these sorts of silent agreements.

21:58 PM

L was waiting for Light to arrive.

The dinner was in an acclaimed restaurant at the top floor of a fancy hotel in the centre of Tokyo. There was a stunning panoramic view of the city in 360 degrees from the floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the entire floor. The most expensive seatings were on the booths that bordered the windows, each separated by the rest of the restaurant by lush living plants and flowers. The vegetation also provided a sense of privacy from the neighbouring tables. The lighting in the restaurant resembled that of a cocktail bar more than anything else. A warm light was coming from small light bulbs, sparse and dim, in order not to compete with the brightness of the Tokyo skyline night lights from outside. Each table was equipped with elegant small tea candles, to discretely light up the visitors meals and faces, providing some extra atmosphere to the place.

Naturally, L had chosen the most expensive seating possible, at a large table, big enough to fit all the deserts he had ordered for himself in advance (some of which were off the menu, but were going to be prepared especially for him). Apart from that, the seating was some of the most comfortable imaginable. The view of Tokyo on one side of the table was enough to make a person feel vertigo, but before Light arrived it was just a twinkling wallpaper to enhance the experience of eating deserts to L.

L expected the young man to show up with an incredulous look on his face. Surely Light had never dined in such luxury. L looked around, feeling smug and oddly relaxed. The place was truly worth the money.

L really hoped that Light would look overwhelmed, however when he finally spotted the champagne-coloured suit, which fitted the tall, lean form of the brunette man so well, that it must have been tailored, L was sorely disappointed.

Walking with the confidence and elegance of a super-model, Yagami Light approached the table being led by a waiter. His caramel coloured hair shined beneath the dim restaurant lights and contrasted so nicely with the lighter colour of his suit and lightly tanned skin. His almond-shaped brown eyes were striking even from a distance. As L stared at him, he felt as if Light was walking through spotlights on a muted stage, illuminated by the tiny lights, one after the other...

Somehow the restaurant designer had managed to create a hall, which had no echo and the conversations of the other customers were almost completely inaudible in the background, as a quiet, non-obtrusive ambient track seamlessly filled in. So when Light gracefully sat down across from him, L felt as if the whole situation was unreal. Light was too stunning to be real. The whole scene looked as if it had been pulled out from a movie and didn't belong in reality. What on earth was he, L, doing there?

When Light sat down he smiled and greeted him, and L opened his mouth to reply but realised that he had been holding his breath and he literally had no air in his lungs to speak. He felt incredibly awkward as he involuntarily gasped before offering Light his monotonous "Thank you for coming, Light-kun."

Light chuckled and the sharp shadows that were cast on his face in a rather dramatic way made him look too gorgeous to contain. L couldn't stop staring at the golden skin and the sharp angles of Light's high cheekbones and chiselled jawline. Light's enticing eyes were catching all the lights, under the thick set of long eyelashes.

"Thank you for inviting me, Ryuuzaki," Light's white teeth flashed between his smirking lips.

'The restaurant was truly worth its money,' L bitterly thought. The warm, flattering lighting, the defining, dramatic shadows, the music, the feeling as if the two of them were last people in the entire world, floating above a world of twinkling city lights… This sort of atmosphere should never have been combined with the beauty of someone like Light. Light was already too charming, and put into these utmost flattering conditions… he looked so enchanting that even L couldn't gather his wits and think straight.

'I made a mistake,' L thought.


	5. Rash Decisions

While L felt as if entire minutes of stunned silence had passed while he regarded Light and mentally assessed how screwed he felt in his company, in reality only a few seconds have ticked by and now Light was offering his end of the conversation.

L listened to him speak almost helplessly, realising too late that he had no idea how small talk worked, so he decided to cut Light's speech of appreciation to L's taste in restaurants short by raising his hand as high as he could and slashing it through the air in a type of brassy waving to their waiter. L exaggerated the awkwardness of the gesture, deliberately wanting to throw Light off and set a thick wall between them as soon as possible.

That succeeded because Light shut up in an uncomfortable silence as L managed to get not only the waiter's attention, but also the scorn of everyone in eyeshot.

However the waiter knew that it was his cue to start bringing the pre-ordered meal and just gave a curt node before shuffling off to the kitchen.

Light raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. He turned his attention to the man, who was the great L. A man who was squatting on the cushion with such unreadable face and stare so fixed that even Light had to work not to flinch. Instead of pulling as far away as he could, Light forced himself to stay calm. He had been thrilled to get this invitation and he had to admit that even though he had his theories he didn't really know what L wanted.

Not knowing something for once was more than intriguing to Light. It had given him such a high that he was able to tolerate L's bizarreness at the moment.

And this was L! The man who Light had wanted to impress, but whom he had only managed to piss off so far. But Light still wanted to make the right impression on the detective, so he was going to try to be patient and fix the way they had began.

To say it simply, Light had ambitions and they extended way pass a normal life. He knew he was designed for much bigger things. That's why, he leaned towards the scrawny black-haired man in front of him and looked at him with an open, interested expression.

A part of Light's mind was still uncertain whether or not this was the real L. It was possible that L had sent an impostor to throw them all off. Nobody would have suspected that this guy was an impostor, because he was so strange, that it would sound absurd for L to send a guy like him to impersonate him. But maybe that was the point. Perhaps the whole thing might have been a test, and Light was keen on passing it.

L noticed the younger man's change in position. Light was now leaning forward, his elbows resting elegantly on the table's edge as he regarded him carefully. L knew from body-language studies that this change of stance indicated showing interest. Did that mean that Light expected him to start talking? L had wanted to wait for his desserts before he would begin. He needed the reassurance of his sugary delights before he had to deal with this stunning and therefore slightly intimidating young man.

However, as much as he enjoyed the melodic sound of Light's voice, he didn't want to risk Light beginning to speak again, so he made a bold decision to speak first without the aid of saccharine.

"Do you know why I invited you here, Yagami-kun?" L said as monotonously as he could, even though he could barely swallow with his throat extremely tight all of a sudden.

"Because you wanted to take me out on a date?" Light answered offhandedly, tossing his hair out of his eyes, all the while looking as if he was doing it for a mesmerised fan audience.

The comment hit L so hard, that he barely managed to recover without missing a beat to respond.

"No," the detective answered coldly. "If that is Yagami-kun's sense of humour, he better keep it to himself."

"I was just trying to lighten up the situation," Light raised his hands slightly, in a peace-making gesture, L noted. However, that didn't ease the detective' sudden surge or unexplainable agitation.

"Please remember that you are not out with one of your friends, Yagami-kun. We are in a professional context and there is no need to entertain me," L said.

"Alright then, Ryuuzaki," Light said, trying really hide to hide his irritation. "Would you proceed to inform me of the reason you summoned me here then?"

Luckily for both of them, the waiter, who chose that moment to arrive with their appetisers, interrupted the increasingly hostile vibe of the conversation. He placed a fresh looking, pale cocktail in front of Light and a huge milkshake next to L.

L had ordered a creamy vanilla milk shake with white chocolate stars decorating the whipped cream on top and many multi-coloured sprinkles. The sugary-fat-sweet concoction came with a multi-coloured straw, an elongated silver spoon and decorated plate.

Light stared at his glass and at L's with a neutral expression, but inside his mind was completely blown and he remained utterly shocked.

Next the waiter placed a dish of appetiser in front of Light. It was smoked yellowtail sashimi with pea shoot salad, an elegant choice, and one of Light's favourites.

Light felt a bit left out of the loop– he wondered if he was getting a pre-set meal, since he had never had the chance to order. Either way, he liked the selection, so he remained quiet.

L didn't wait for him to dig in. His black eyes had for once shown a bit of life, as what seemed like childish delight shimmered over their opaque surface. Light watched as the world's greatest detective completely forgot about him and began picking white chocolate stars with the tip of his spoon and licking them off the silver surface.

Utterly ignored, Light took a tentative taste of his cocktail. He was stunned when he tasted Sencha, the best mix of gin and sake that could exist. He loved the freshness of the cucumber and the egg white with the yuzu. He almost never drank, but he found that drink refreshing and very much to his taste. It was also marvellously prepared, which Light appreciated strongly.

As he savoured the first sip in his mouth, L startled him almost into chocking by suddenly addressing him.

"Is the drink and the appetiser to your liking, Yagami-kun?" L looked almost comical staring with those enormous black eyes from behind the top of his whipped cream mountain. He had some cream over his upper lip and it disturbed Light but he tried ignoring it. He wasn't surprised to find that this man was a messy eater. Surely he'd have his food decorate his otherwise plain white shirt by the end of the meal, so Light had to prepare himself for it.

"Indeed," Light said smoothly. "I love sashimi and Sencha."

"I took the liberty to pre-order Yagami-kun's entire meal. I hope that the rest of the dishes would also satisfy his rather exquisite taste."

L said this so blankly that Light didn't know how to respond, so he just took another sip of Sencha, determined to enjoy it no matter what and began eating his sashimi, curious how had the man predicted his taste so well.

"I wanted to discuss your involvement in the police investigation, Yagami-kun," L began out of nowhere. His eyes were glued to his milk shake as he addressed the caramel-haired young man in front of him. Light lifted his chocolate eyes from the sashimi and focused on the detective.

"It would appear that you have lost your interest as of late. Your direct participation has decreased by 77% in the past 3 sessions," L commented while examining a scoop of cream on his spoon. After earning his approval, it made its way between his pale lips.

Light watched a pink tongue dart out to lick away the white cream off the corners of his lips attentively. For some reason this display gave the younger man a very disturbing mental image, which he pushed aside… far away into the darkest most neglected corners of his mind.

"Brilliant assumption," Light teased, earning himself a very cold, but was quickly dismissed in favour of the dessert. "I was under the impression that my input was not entirely appreciated," Light said, aware that it would sound childish, however, he didn't want to change his antics too abruptly – it would be too obvious. He was going to work his way into making this L like him. It had to appear like a natural progression from his earlier behaviour.

"Your input could have been much appreciated, but so far it has been largely unnecessary," L responded just as stubbornly. Light was acting like a spoiled brat, but L wasn't beneath responding in the same way.

"Are you implying that I have not made any contribution, or are you just saying this because I called you out on investigating on your own behind the NPA's back," Light said sweetly.

L didn't react, having anticipated that line. The younger man was right – he was bitter about having been challenged. Perhaps it was time to put his personal feelings aside and try to do the job for which he had called that dinner in the first place – negotiating with Light and preventing him from getting himself killed by Tanaka's people.

That required a certain level of amiability on both sides, so L resolved to try to achieve it. The dark-haired detective had a very good excuse not to look at Light anymore – his milkshake was there and he was able to focus without the constant distraction of shiny hair and dazzling looks. But even though he went through all his social knowledge and couldn't find anything appropriate to say and sure as hell, he wasn't going to announce that he wanted a truce. No, L was never going to fall like that. In stead something popped up into his mind.

The night before, hadn't Whammy mentioned that the younger man might have been trying to get L's attention? Looking at Light now, the detective realised that it was quite possible – from Light's brilliant test scores and spotless record, he most likely had high ambitions. Could working for L be one of them?

L cast away that thought immediately. It was too frivolous to entertain. In stead he focused on the issue at hand. If Light wanted to prove himself, then what better way to get him to warm up to the conversation, than to give him a reason to brag?

"What makes Yagami-kun believe that he was right about his assumptions?" L asked while looking down at his toes. He felt self-conscious about making such an obvious effort.

Light realised that L was giving him a chance. Finally it was his time to shine!

Feeling reassured, Light leaned in closer over the table, pushing his appetiser to the side, completely disinterested now in the savoury food.

"I had been following your cases for years, Ryuuzaki," Light began and his tone was so confident and at the same time story-telling, that this promised to be a long, thought-through speech. L realised that Whammy must have been right. This boy just wanted to prove himself.

Something in L felt slightly disappointed.

"I have calculated that the average speed at which you solve a case is about 2 and a half weeks, having found a lead suspect in the first half of the first week," Light continued. L tried to remain focused despite the pretty shimmering reflections, which the candles created in Light's deep brown eyes. It was even harder not to glance down while the younger man spoke, as the movement of his lips nagged for L's attention. "I was excited to hear that you were working in Japan with my dad…"

"That's why you hacked into the NPA system and began monitoring the progress of the Mafia case and after 2 weeks of no prime suspects appointed, you decided that I must be double-playing the police," L spoke quickly in a monotonous voice. He was getting the shivers from looking at Light and he wanted out of the situation as quickly as possible. He was also impatient to get to the point – he knew exactly where all of this was going anyway.

"Yeah…" Light said, trying to hide his irritation of being interrupted. "How did you know I hacked the NPA?"

"How else would you have been able to follow my progress, without hacking into various police systems around the world," L responded without an inclination in his voice. "You wanted me to know that you are a very gifted hacker, that's why you phrased yourself the way you did in the first place. Point taken. Now please move on."

Light chuckled lightly.

"You really want to cut this conversation short. It is a shame because I am beginning to really enjoy it. But since you already know what I wanted to say, and it's now obvious that you only asked me this to get to whatever you called me here for, why don't you get to the point?"

It was all said with a charming smile, but L could see the smugness underneath it. Light thought very highly of himself, and it looked like L could now guess what he was thinking.

Before L could test his theory, the waiter showed up with a bigger trail. He took away the used plates and glasses and set forth the main meal. Light stared in disbelief and the sheer amount of sweets that had been brought. L was having chocolate and praline doughnuts with yuzu curd, half-baked chocolate pudding with black sesame ice cream, white chocolate and coconut mousse with chocolate Malibu sorbet, some green tea tiramisu, and a French crème brûlée. He was also having some silver needle white tea with loads of sugar in it.

Light almost felt sick imagining all of this going into L's stomach. The younger man gave the frail man in baggy clothing a scrutinising stare. Was L going to expand and fill those clothes by the end of the dinner then strangely deflate? Was L bulimic? Was he going to run to the bathroom to throw up halfway through the dinner?

All disgusting thoughts about sweets and eating disorders disappeared when Light saw the meal that he had been ordered. Immediately the younger man's mouth began salivating at the sight of tender king crab leg with his braised daikon and to ban jan sause. It was Light's absolute favourite – the meal he felt animalistic hunger for! His desire for this dish was so strong that it bordered improper.

However, Light tried to remain neutral but he didn't waste time to start eating. Ohhhh sweet crab meat… ooooh! Munch munch munch….

L raised an invisible eyebrow seeing the brunette pounce on his food like a hungry animal. It was kind of cute and endearing while at the same time, seeing Light devour his meal with such passion made L almost forget about what he was supposed to be eating.

The detective snapped out of it and averted his eyes. He felt a bit embarrassed for having stared. Thankfully Light hadn't noticed. He was picking the meat with quick, precise and efficient moments, his expression giving off controlled signs of delight.

"This is very good," Light commented after he had eaten half of the meal and he was content enough to spare a breath to speak.

L noticed that Light's body had assumed a very protective position around his dish, which subtly gave off the signal that Light was ready to fight off any hungry competitors for his crabmeat. It was extremely interesting to watch, and L tried not to enjoy himself too much. He knew he shouldn't be so fascinated by something like that.

"I am glad I guessed right," L responded, taking a taste of delicious half-baked pudding which exploded a soft warm filling when he poked it with his spoon. The eruption was beautiful to watch too.

"How did you know what my favourite foods are?" Light finally asked the question, which had been troubling him. He was in a much better disposition now having eaten and drank good stuff.

"Well, I am a detective, assuming things about people is what I do," L said, just a bit smugly.

Light gaped at him. L felt good about finally getting Light to realize just how good he was. He was always getting the feeling that Light thought that he was a joke, or otherwise underestimated him. That should show him, L thought.

Light felt a bit thrown off. He knew for a fact that nowhere, anywhere, were his favourite foods, colours or anything similar stated. There was no way for L to have "found" this information about him. L was good. He was almost freakishly good.

Once Light had pushed away his now empty plate and L had ordered another Sencha for him, L decided to continue. He still had a few plates to finish while they talked but he felt the moment was right for the conversation to continue.

"Unfortunately I will have to disappoint you," The detective said out of the blue.

"What?" Light looked up at him from his pleasured state of content.

"I am not here to offer Yagami-kun a job, as he is assuming," L said seriously. Light's expression became very controlled and neutral – a certain sign that he was disappointed and was trying to hide it. L had guessed right.

"I am here to remind Yagami-kun that this case is not a game or an exercise for his IQ, no matter how high and impressive it must be. We are dealing with a killer that has the means and resources to device brilliant murders. So far we have had car accidents, exploding chemicals in pipelines, short circuits and all sorts of nasty, unpredictable mishaps happening to someone's enemies."

"Yagami-kun was right in his assumptions," L continued after a breath. "I have been covering my true investigation, but that is because I am certain that there is a spy on the NPA board, and I wanted to catch him and use him as a lead to finding the true culprit for these murders, whose identity I already strongly suspect, but no solid proof has been found yet."

"At first I thought that this spy could be Yagami-kun. Bu now I am certain that he is innocent. However…" L made another pause inspecting Light's eyes. The young men was devouring every word he said. It was rather impressive; "… the reason why I am revealing this to you is because you have placed yourself in danger by openly dragging the instigators' attention to the true culprit. I am afraid that the moment when you get too close to the truth you will become a target."

"So you are trying to save me?" Light said slowly, looking at L with those intense brown eyes.

"Technically, yes," L admitted rather uncomfortably. He didn't want to make it sound as if it was personal.

"Well, do you think that even though I am intelligent enough to figure out what you are doing I haven't figured out that there is a spy on the team?"

L's eyes snapped back up at the chocolate ones. Had he heard right?

"Why have you been doing this then?" L said calmly even though he couldn't suppress a note of disbelief.

"I was hoping to get a chance to speak to you, but after my initial attempt, you acted so hostile that I didn't think that requesting a meeting would work with you," Light admitted and sat back up against the cushion behind his back. He crossed his legs and tilted his head slightly, regarding L with a cold expression.

"You were willing to risk your life for this," L more confirmed that asked. "Or… no. This is why you stopped speaking directly to the NPA - you put your own father's life at risk to get to me."

"Careful what you accuse me of!" Light suddenly leaned forward over the table, his eyes blazing with anger. "I was never risking my dad's life, given that I made certain that everyone on the team knew that my father was taking direct advice from me! He was never in danger!"

"Yes, you were," L responded, even as he unconsciously pulled as far back as he could. The young Yagami looked angry enough to hit him at this point. Not that L couldn't tackle him to the ground, but he didn't want to cause a scene in the restaurant. "You just made the killer's most logical choice for eliminating you to kill off your entire family – killing off a father and son would look most convincing as a car crash incident with all the family members in the vehicle.

"Don't you dare imply something like that!" Light growled between his teeth. His cheeks were flushing a dashing pink in his anger. But the site wasn't as cute as it was frightening.

"That's how killers think, Yagami-kun. You might be too naïve to perceive that from your idealistic college-student view on the world, however if this wasn't the case, I wouldn't have summoned you here tonight." L said. Then as an afterthought he added, "It's not your lack of competence that is hindering you – it's your youthful idealism. That's why even though you were very close to the true conclusions, you never really had the capability to come up with my suspect's name."

"I didn't come up with his name because I don't have access to all the resources you have! I only have what the NPA has and sadly they have only been acquiring irrelevant information based on your guidance," Light fumed.

"You could guess that it is a large corporation businessmen behind these murders, didn't you? Then why didn't you hack into every single large company's records, evaluated their goals and gains from the deaths of the victims and…"

"What you are saying is insane! You need a team of people to work through and sort out such amounts of information, or you need to purchase already made company reports from marketing companies and financial journals! Doing this kind of work all by yourself - it is insane!" Light hissed to prevent himself from shouting.

"I have done it before," L answered calmly.

Light fell silent. Slowly he composed himself and sat back down. He had almost reached across the table to strangle the pale, nuisance of a man, who had just…

Light looked down at his hands. He tried to remain impassive. What had just happened? Had he just been rejected and rendered completely wrong by the only person whom he had ever felt any respect for? He had been likened to a babbling child, a complete immature idiot! But Light had been right in theory! This should have worked, but what L was saying was that in practice people and murderers, in particular, didn't always act based on the sensible and logical textbook reasons. And he was right, now that Light looked at it this way.

Surely Light had never had such a low in his life before, but he had to keep his pride and not let it show, at least not in front of L. However he felt utterly dejected.

L returned to his desserts, which now felt oddly tasteless. The detective glanced at Light a few times, checking for changes in his expression. Light looked calm and resigned. However L wasn't the world's greatest detective for nothing and he could tell that what lied beneath it was an ocean of hurt and.

L wasn't an empathetic person, which was a good thing, because it allowed him to work without his emotions getting in the way.

However for the first time in his life, he felt bad about having hurt someone's feelings. A simple glance at Light made L lose his appetite.

The dark-haired detective knew that he shouldn't care, but he could understand the type of hurt Light must have been going through all too well. Light was brilliant; there was no going around it. However, he was young and naïve. That didn't mean that he wasn't good, but…

L could imagine how he would have felt if back in the day, when he still had some of the traits which Light now possessed, and how he would have felt if someone had treated him like that back then. Given, L had been much, much younger when he had lost his innocence towards the world, but age didn't matter in this case. L had always had to mature much faster than others.

The detective tried not to care, tried to stay firm, and even reminded himself that now they were even. Light had hurt his pride first. And at the end of the day, it was for the best! Light was finally going to back down on the case and go pursue some other… more healthy interests. Putting his life in danger and wanting to work for L weren't the best choices for a vibrant young man like himself to make.

But then again, Light had expressed his desire to work with L… even after he had met the detective. Something about that touched L in a very weird way. L had never revealed his face as the greatest detective in the world before. And when he had, the disbelief and slight hostility that met him were the mildest sort of negative reactions, which the dark-haired man had anticipated. Obviously, nobody imagined him as The World's Greatest Detective.

L knew that he wasn't a very sightly vision. He knew his manners repulsed people. He didn't remember the last time he had been in the company of another person for so long as he had spent dining with Light that night. And surprisingly Light hadn't ran away screaming, L hadn't felt the need to sink into the earth beneath him in, and Light had generally acted in an overall friendly and accepting manner. It was a very unique experience, now that L thought about it.

But why was L thinking in that way? He didn't need a partner! He never had, he never would.

What he did need was a successor, and so far, none of the children at Whammy's had shown enough potential in all the aspects. And L didn't really know if Light could meet all the standards either. True, Light had social skills, something which the orphans at Whammy's and L himself sorely lacked and if he succeeded in all the other areas as well, than he would have been the ultimate successor for L. But in order to determine any of that, Light had to be tested.

This new thought was now spinning around his head. He had really wanted to avoid any interaction with his successors at Whammy's house. If he could only get Whammy to stop terrorising him about that matter… Thinking about it, perhaps that was why Whammy had talked about Light – perhaps he had been hoping to provoke L to think this way. Well, if Light could not only meet all the standards, but be a suitable successor to get Whammy off L's case, and lastly but not least importantly, got along with L, then L had to consider this a whole lot better.

Perhaps, he could test Light, then invite him to work beside him as a partner, and if Light exceeded, L could train him for the job and let him inherit it after L's ultimate demise.

Everything revolved around L's demise these days, L thought bitterly but pushed it aside.

"What do you plan to do now?" L asked after some mental consideration.

"Are you thinking that I will stop participating in the case?" Light looked up and contrary to L's expectation, those eyes were not broken – there was a new sort of flame in them. "Even though you won't allow the NPA team anywhere close to the truth, I won't leave this case until the culprit has been brought to justice," Light said with bitter conviction.

L liked that Light spoke about justice. And he certainly liked that Light had not been broken so easily. Perhaps the two of them could get along after all. L was also interested in justice.

"I was hoping that you won't lose interest in the case after my rejection," L admitted.

"Don't think so highly of yourself," Light laughed bitterly before adding, "You won't ruin my faith in pursuing what I believe is right. Even though… I believe you are making a big mistake that one day you will regret."

L almost huffed at the obvious superiority complex that Light was sporting. He decided to dismiss the last part of that sentence.

"I can't have your help for this case, given that you are lacking the expertise which I require for a person in my own team. However, I would like to see if you are as good as you claim to be. Would you care to go through some tests and determine if you can be of any use to me in the future?"

Light's back straightened and he regarded L with a calm, calculative look. After a few moments of tense silence, in which not just Light was cringing on the inside, the brunette made up his mind.

"Certainly. When do we start?"

L took in a deep breath. What was he setting himself up for…

…

Dinner finished shortly after. L had told Light that he'd inform him about everything in due time. He only asked Light to stay alive through the course of the case and to use his logic in order not to put himself into any unnecessary danger. The detective gave his word that he'll get back to him when he had everything ready for Light's trials.

"Most likely just before the end of this month," L said, thinking about the time he estimated to wrap up the case and prepare to leave Japan for England. The detective had happily finished the rest of his desserts after the gloomy atmosphere had been lifted from their conversation.

"Excellent, I will be waiting," Light smiled contently as they stood up simultaneously.

The synchronised action startled them both for a second.

"Well, thank you for the dinner," Light said in the awkward silence which followed.

"You are welcome," L said chewing his fingernail.

To the detective's surprise Light extended his hand to greet him with a handshake. L gave the elegant outstretched hand a stare. After a short mental debate the detective wiped his fingers in his shirt and clasped Light's hand. In that moment a surprising surge of thrills ran up L's arm and along his crooked spine, causing the detective's skin to prickle.

Did L imagine it or did Light's pupils actually dilate in that moment when he held L's hand for a second longer? And was that heat that L felt in his face actually manifest itself as a blush? The detective quickly pulled his hand away and prayed to a non-existent higher power to prevent his face from reddening.

Light didn't flinch at any point. He just smiled gently and turned to walk out the restaurant. L stayed by the table, watching Light's elegant champagne-coloured suit-clad figure disappear out the front door into the lobby. That's when an array of overbearing emotions flooded him all at once.

There was a great deal of relief as the weight of social pressure had been lifted off his frail shoulders, and he had survived this dinner with the gorgeous Yagami Light. Then there was also the immense sort of disappointment that he hadn't walked with Light to the elevator. Then there was the relief that he hadn't done it, and of course the irritation at these conflicting feelings, plus the enormous irritation at himself for having made a brass, unconsidered decision to invite Yagami Light for tests and to basically offer him a job.

How had Light made him do that? Surely L had just found himself manipulated. L hadn't wanted to see Light hurt, thus he had ended up convicting himself that he wanted to give Light a chance to work with him. What the hell had possessed him to do that?

And lastly, strangely, and unexplainably, L also felt an unbelievable exhilaration. The source of that feeling was very vague, but a part of the euphoria was surely due to the fact that he had managed to communicated in person with someone so interesting and intelligent for so long and that person had actually seemed alright with his company!

L had never had any friends, but somewhere deep inside his heart he registered the appearance of seeds of hope. Those really should have been trampled early on, but L didn't seem to find the resolve to do so. After all, what so terrible could happen if he just for a second entertained the idea that perhaps Light, with all his acceptance and patience as well as superior IQ and understanding might actually become a friend to him?

Surely it was a healthy wish to have. Whammy would have approved if L were ever to share.

However, L never shared such frivolous thoughts. And soon he flipped his phone open and called his old mentor. He was done and he had achieved what he had wanted – Light was out of danger and no longer an obstacle.

Now all he had to do was finish the case.


	6. Changes

Days were ticking by too slowly. The nights seemed to stretch even longer but L never got any sleep, not at all. He was pushing himself, he knew it, but he wasn't tired and he didn't mind working extra hard now. He really wanted to get the case over with – it wasn't as if it was interesting at this stage, but he still worked his best to just finish it. Truth be told, L was both ecstatic and extremely bored at the same time. The euphoria was not as easy to explain as the boredom. Well, perhaps the boredom was a bit more complicated then it should have been as well.

Yes, he had already figured out the identity of the killer. Yes, the fun part of the case was over indeed. But that didn't explain why L was suddenly so tired of everything to do with work and was inclined to resolve to heuristics or overlooking details for the sake of… was he rushing to end this job?

It was normal for him to tire after figuring out a puzzle, but that didn't prevent him from enjoying every little detail of it. L had always enjoyed going through even the tiniest of possibilities, thinking absolutely every move through, and he liked how he did it, and he knew why he did it – it was because he was the pinnacle of perfection in his field - it was what made him the world's greatest detective.

L sighed and tried to focus his eyes on the document he was reading. He was crouched in his usual way on a large corner couch. The forest green leather underneath the soles of his feet felt good, and even though L was not the type to put his mind into contemplating luxury, he was the type to require it. And he could afford it. He was staying on the top floor of a prominent hotel in Tokyo. It was the presidential suit he was renting, so that he could have a nice bird's eye view of the city through the wide glass doors that led to the balcony. The Tokyo Tower was visible through the city's morning haze. It was around 5:30 am, and L's back felt sore from another all-nighter.

L enjoyed large premises with even wider windows, on very high floors, where nobody could see him gazing outside whenever he allowed his eyes to get some much needed break. The detective knew he was compensating, and he was aware of the psychological mechanisms, that made him almost literary toss his money out the window for presidential suits and expensive everythings. But if he hated anything more than narrow ground-floor rooms, with tiny glazed rectangular windows near the ceiling that shed little to no light on a rainy English day, then it was probably being seen from the outside of a window. That's why big windows and high floors always went hand-in-hand for him.

L felt the need to reaffirm something, got up and went out on the balcony. The outside air was chilly, and slightly polluted as the night's smog got blown away by the morning wind. L didn't mind though. He breathed in a sharp deep breath, filling his lungs with moisture and chemicals. He breathed out and placed both hands on the metal rail, leaning forwards a little bit to look at the city from a breath-taking height. His jet black hair was flying around his face, lashing at his pale cheeks like tiny whips. A rebel lock hit him in the eye and he had to squeeze it closed for a few moments, before releasing one hand's his iron grip on the rail to brush his hair back out of his face. Doing something so self-serving, made L's mind take the (rather short) leap to thinking of Light again. A flash of the brunette man running a hand through his silky hair, and L was unconsciously testing the texture of his own. It was not silky. It was hard and dry, due to his notorious vitamin deficiency. But it didn't matter.

For the past two weeks or so L had been working without the NPA, so he hadn't really seen Light in the police office. However, that had wielded some weird results. A few days after having dinner with the Japanese man, L had found it necessary, and justifiable, to send an agent to stalk Light and report to L every move the younger man made. L had learned Light's routine, the times he was at college, the times he was home, what he did in between…

The detective felt that he needed to learn more about Light, if he wanted to invest his time in him at all. What if the brunette man turned out to be a dangerous mass-murdering psycho who was hiding something borderline-supernatural beneath that brilliant façade? Some might call L paranoid, but the detective knew that one could never know.

But an agent stalking Light wasn't enough. L had looked over the pictures, which Wedy had snapped for him, over and over again and had felt that they were totally not sufficient. L had NO IDEA what Light did IN class or AT his home. He knew where the younger man hanged out, and who were his associates, but L didn't know enough, and knowing everything was essential, if he was going to risk having Light in on his secrets and becoming his future associate.

That was the argument he used to persuade Whammy to back him up on his plan to have Light's home bugged. There was no knowing what such an intelligent young men was capable of, and there was no knowing how well Light could hide his secrets, and if Whammy didn't want to jeopardise the safety of his dear Orphanage with all of L's precious successors, then he had to agree with L and break the law by placing surveillance equipment in the Yagami house.

So soon L had Light on live surveillance when the younger man was at his home. Surprisingly Light didn't do anything abnormal in his indoor time. All he did was study. Unfortunately, after just a day of surveillance Whammy had confronted L about the matter again and had said, that L had NO GROUND to continue watching Light after a day of absolutely no abnormal activity. And that what L was doing was immoral.

Thankfully immorality was Whammy's only real concern about L's reasons for observing Light at his home. Other people might have thought all sorts of things about L, but Whammy was so convinced in L's lack of sexuality, that he hadn't even flinched when he walked in on L carefully observing Light undressing. Sadly, when Whammy showed up, L had been forced to turned away in the most important moment to listen to whatever his older partner was there to inform him about. L hadn't wanted to appear suspicious, so he had worked on something else, leaving naked Light to go around his room unobserved.

But even though L would also testify that he had no sexual urges, and he had justified all of his actions very carefully to himself, and there was a lot of logic involved in the matter, the black-haired youth still guiltily acknowledged that he… he had been rather curious about Light's naked body. He had wanted to survey it, because he wanted to know what was there underneath all those gorgeous champagne suits, crisp shirts and pressed pants.

Sadly, he hadn't seen much because of the camera's location and the bad quality, but had seen enough to conclude that Light had a slim, but well-toned frame, his shoulders were broad, collarbones beautifully protruding, arms strong, legs long and abs defined.

Seemed like the younger man was the pinnacle of physical perfection, and his back was perfectly straight, something which caused a slight pang of jealousy in L. The detective knew that he could have been jealous for quite a lot of things, when it came to Light's appearance, but he liked to think that he was above such superficialities.

L wondered what it would be like having Light around all the time. The detective felt impatient to find out. It was going to bring quite an edge to his life for certain. L had began to think that Light could provide a good source of mental stimulation, if every interaction was as intense as that night at the restaurant…

But of course, the Tanaka case came first, as L had to remind himself all the time, lately. And then came the planning for Light's tests, for estimating his actual abilities. But before all of that, L HAD to be certain Light was worth the effort, right?

With Wedy's the reports and the footage from the surveillance, (which he had been forced to destroy), L was only partially convinced that Light could be trusted, and not so convinced that Light had any chances of passing the tests he had planned for him. So L decided to pay a surprise visit to Light at his university and to see how Light would act in an extreme situation (such as having the world's greatest detective walk around outside). It was important to see if Light was going to keep his cool, how was he going to handle L's presence and what was he going to make of all of it.

It was a sort of mini-test and L saw this as a completely justifiable idea. He only had to convince Whammy that he'd be fine going out on his own. The black-haired man smiled ever so slightly at the thought. His old mentor was going to be surprised.

So, that's how a few days after the idea got conceived on the balcony of L's hotel suit, the detective found himself in a predicament. He had managed to convince Whammy and had found a time to do it. He even had shoes now. But there was a problem.

L had to leave the hotel room. All by himself.

L wasn't self-conscious. Or at least, he wasn't self-conscious when he was alone indoors.

So it was borderline unbearable to walk into the elevator, which was soon crowding with strangers as it descended to the ground floor. And once he was out-out, he quickly felt remorseful for the bold decision – the world was chaotic, full of noise, pollution, bright light, atmospheric elements, wind and dust in his eyes, sun on his skin, cold air going through his light clothing, and tons and tons of even more people!

Suddenly it hit L that he was unsafe, surrounded, and paranoid, on the edge of panic attack. Only his brilliant mind kept him together, telling him to walk to his taxi, to look at his feet and to pretend there were no others, in order to calm his speeding heart. Once he got into the taxi it was easy, but he had to really summon his will to get off in front of Light's university.

The place was much better than the busy centre of Tokyo where his hotel had been. Large open areas of parks and alleys, smaller university buildings, libraries, canteens, cafes and shops, surrounded the main campus. But that didn't stop L from feeling paranoid. It was way too opened. ANYTHING could happen. There were too many students glancing at him. There were too many CCTVs turned at him. But L gathered the courage to shuffle his feet (trapped in an uncomfortable pair of ratty sneakers, which had once been his tennis shoes, a long, long time ago). He went to an area, where he knew Light would pass, as he walked to a café where he usually had his lunch. The only flaw that Light had was that his routine was so rigid that he was awfully predictable. To the second. So L arrived just in time to crouch on a bench before Light turned the corner and appeared in view.

L knew that an entourage of admirers and followers would surround the attractive young man, but seeing it in real life suddenly intimidated him. However, a glance at Light's face, gave L a sudden rush of unexplainable courage and resolve. The detective raised his arm as high as he could and waved.

"Oi! Light!" he raised his voice and watched as the Japanese man turned his attention to him. Light looked surprised for less than a split second, but then he masked it and replaced that expression with…

"Ryuuzaki!" Light smiled and waved back, and by any definition, he looked as if he had just spotted a good friend and was glad to see him.

L was impressed.

Light sped his step to get to him and stopped in front of the bench, not even blinking an eye at the way L "sat" on it, something that captured the other girls' and boys' attention. The detective faintly registered the girls whispering to each other as he concentrated on Light.

"It's nice to see you here, Ryuuzaki," Light's sunshine smile looked so genuine, "I am surprised though. What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing by from work, and I thought I'd stop by to see you, Light-kun," L responded. He was already feeling much better; it was as if Light was deflecting everything negative about being outside.

"Oh yeah! How is your job at the Azuma gallery going then?" Light asked, impressively lying on the spot. It was a good cover that he had created – L had never thought about it, but he guessed that he could pass for a crazed-artistic type.

"It's all good. I don't see you visiting much anymore though," L played his part.

"I have been busy, but I do miss your tirades about ancient printmaking techniques," Light chuckled teasingly, and L wished he had brought an Oscar because the brunette deserved it.

"Your friend is a scholar at Azuma gallery?" one of the girls interrupted. She was tall, very pretty, and impeccably put together young woman.

"Yes, he is an American scientist interring at Azuma gallery this year. Ryuuzaki, let me introduce to you Takada Kiyomi. Takada, this is Ryuuzaki Rue."

"A pleasure to meet you," L bowed his head slightly, receiving a bow in return from the pretty shorthaired Japanese girl.

"Takada, would you please excuse me," Light turned to her, and vaguely to the rest, who were seemingly just dragging along with the duo, "I haven't seen Ryuuzaki in a while and I'd like to take this opportunity to catch up with him."

Takada nodded. She seemed to be the kind, polite and understanding type. L gawked at her. He didn't get to see many women in person or at all. The occasional female FBI agent or burglar he communicated with over the phone or web camera was L's only contact with the fairer sex.

"Ryuuzaki, would you like to grab lunch with me? I know a place with a great desert selection?" Light turned to him.

"Yes, indeed. I am starving," L responded, getting up. He felt awkward standing in his hunched posture next to Light, who was standing so tall and gorgeous. The detective felt awfully self-conscious in front of his pretty companion as well.

Light quickly said his goodbyes to the others and soon it were just he and L walking together.

It was an awfully nice day, and the sun was too bright for L. He was unused to such dazzling light, but his companion seemed to thrive in it. His caramel locks looked brighter and shinier under the sun, catching the rays and bringing out warm highlights. Light's skin was glowing, his eyes shinnying and the thick shadows, which his eyelashes cast on his honey eyes created such seductive and dramatic contrast, that L's mind was beginning to lose focus.

The walk around the park was quite magical for the detective. The scenery and Light were quite overbearing. They were walking mostly in silence, and the wind was gentle, the trees were bright green, birds were chirping and L's mind was most definitely not working at 100%. The whole scene seemed unnatural and too good to be true. L had never had such a pleasant 5-minute walk in his life.

When they finally went inside the shadowed atmosphere of the café, L's eyes seemed to take a while to adjust.

"Your eyes are grey," Light observed as they stood at the bar, waiting to order.

"Huh," L was confused. Was that statement directed at him?

"I said - your eyes are grey. I was under the impression that they were completely black," Light explained. When he noticed the expression on L's face, he smiled dismissively and added, "Never mind, it's nothing important."

L didn't reply anything. He was still confused, but also a warm fuzzy feeling was seeping into his stomach, which he dismissed.

When L ordered half the desert menu Light gave him a look. The detective wondered what was the problem, and felt a pang of irritation. Light wasn't supposed to be like that – the last thing he wanted was a partner who would give him hell about his health as Whammy was constantly doing. But then again, L was jumping way ahead of himself.

And when L realised that they had to manually carry their order to a table, he understood why Light had looked at him like that. Balancing 7 plates of deserts was not exactly L's thing. Thankfully, Light graciously offered to carry the plates two by two if L went to guard a table. So the detective sat down and waited as Light served him. Watching the gorgeous man walk through the bar twice made L want to smile. On the third time, however, Light had captured the whole bar's attention and there were about 4 or 5 girls (and boys) offering to give him a hand. Light didn't refuse any of their help, and with each person taking one plate, or one cup in hand, their order was finally on their table. The helpers gave L a weird look as well.

When Light graciously sent them away, L finally could relax. He hadn't enjoyed the commotion, but perhaps he had to get used to being in the center of attention, when he was in Light's company.

\--------

It was beyond weird that L was at the café with him!

As Light sat down with the man, after having brought all his sweets to the tiny round table, with the help of a few others, and eyed the black-haired mess of a man, who immediately dug into the deserts.

Light felt tense. He assumed the detective had come because he suspected what Light had been doing as of late. Obviously, Light wouldn't have easily be shushed away from a case, like a naughty child, and just because L had told him that he might be risking the life of his entire family (and himself), Light hadn't stopped thinking of ways to catch the criminal before L managed to do so.

And finally Light had found a way into it, for the night before he had the most interesting meeting and conversation of his life (after the dinner with L, of course).

The teenager hadn't disregarded what the detective had said about a spy on the NPA team. And at first he had been satisfied with just attending the meetings of the NPA for the sake of not making it weird that he would stop all at once. People might have had become suspicious, even though besides his father, nobody else knew that Light had met with L again.

Soichiro had wanted to know about the meeting but Light had explained that it was confidential. His father hadn't asked any more, and Light knew that he would never leak the information to anyone.

However, someone else had taken an interest in Light, someone whom Light wouldn't have noticed or suspected until the young man approached him the night before.

Light had been attending the NPA and "helping out", staying until late every day after college, but the previous night, as he went to leave, Yuuta Sato, a young and particularly bright officer caught up with him in the corridor of the Police Building.

Yuuta was about a foot taller than Light, which made him tall for a Japanese man; lean, handsome, in his mid twenties. He had sleek black hair, which was always pulled back into a ponytail that blobbed up and down as he walked. The man was dressed in an ironed dark suit and oozed the kind of serious excellence that Light envisioned when he thought of the ideal police investigator.

Yuuta was collected and professional, nothing like the babbling idiot Matsuda who was constantly trying to socialise with Light. So when that evening the older man approached him and asked Light to catch dinner with him, the young man happily accepted.

As they walked down the vibrant, lantern-lit small-restaurant streets of central Tokyo, Yuuta began talking about L and how the detective had stopped almost all communication with the police. The taller man made his way with relative ease between the noisy crowds of workers, who were trying to catch their late dinner after an extended work-day, and Light found it easy to just follow, as Yuuta opened up the way for him.

"I will take you to my favourite place here," Yuuta said, looking over his shoulder to see if Light was following. The brunette felt a bit uneasy next to such a tall man, but made sure to be all full of himself, for he knew that he was still the more stunning of the two, and managed to capture the attention of anyone who could spot him in the busy crowd.

"Do you like Teriyaki? The place specialises in the soy foods," Yuuta said.

"Teriyaki sounds good," Light huffed behind him, taking a moment to politely apologise to a rather large lady, who had collided into him.

Once they were seated in a small restaurant joint and had their orders quickly placed before them, Yuuta told Light that he was almost certain that L was closing in on his suspect on his own. Light just nodded and made a non-commitment sound with his mouth full, while hiding his true thoughts on the matter. He knew L was very close to catching whomever it was that he was suspecting.

Light was still angry at that skinny, pale, man. L had casually pushed him aside, (along with the whole of Japanese police), chiding him like a child for believing he could do anything for the case. The brunette had felt so humiliated, that it was hard to put it into words, and revisiting it in memory was almost unbearable. The younger man had settled down a bit after the promise of getting a chance to be tested for future investigations alongside L, but at the same time… that promise was not nearly enough. I wasn't what Light had wanted.

And what Light had truly wanted all along…

Light had to be careful. It seemed that Yuuta was good at picking up the tiny, very subtle changes he displayed with his expressions. He wouldn't have asked Light out in the first place, if that wasn't the case. The brunette man quickly made the connection with the fact that Light had been a bit different after his second meeting with L, and the fact that Yuuta was talking about L. It was highly probable that the investigator was suspected something.

Noting Light's lack of response Yuuta changed the subject and asked Light how he had been. A smart move for interrogation purposes, Light thought.

The long-haired detective remembered that Light had met with L and that before and after their meeting he had antagonised the detective and presented his own views instead of blindly believing every word L said (like the rest of the NPA). Yuuta said that he appreciated those qualities in Light and that he had his own misgiving about L as well.

Light wasn't a fool, and his suspicions were quickly rising as he conversed with Yuuta. The man seemed too intelligent and too interested in Light. He also seemed to suspect somehow that Light had met with L again after the formal meeting of a few selected NPA members (plus Light). So Light continued playing it safe, not backing up on his previous claims about the detective working on his own, but sustaining from introducing anything new.

Finally Yuuta finished his meal and ordered a round of sake for both of them and leaned to the side of the long window-table where they were sitting next to each other, amidst other men, who were eating their dinner in a hurry.

"You might be wondering why I took so much of your time with such errand thoughts and conversations," Yuuta said softly, as if to not be overheard. Light noted that his exposed forehead was pale and perfectly mate, lacking any skin imperfections. Light liked the strict type of beauty that his appearance held with his hair tightly pulled back and his angular jaw well exposed.

"Indeed, I have been wondering why would one of the most promising junior officers on the team be spending his free time with me," Light smiled, answering just as softly. It wasn't supposed to sound flirtatious but Light knew that a bit of sublimate seduction always worked in his favour.

"Unfortunately, it is not just for the pleasure of your company, Light-kun," Yuuta smiled slyly, suggestively. Light raised an eyebrow slightly, and then returned to his business face, signalling the other man to continue.

"I will tell you now that I don't work for your father, Yagami Soichiro, the head of the NPA," Yuuta said, leaning in further, so that his words would be lost to anyone else except for Light. "I am an FBI agent. This identity is my cover and I work for the Government of the USA."

Yuuta made a dramatic pause, which Light assumed was given, so that the younger man could process the information. Pathetic, Light though, as he patiently waited and played his part.

"The reason why I am revealing this to you, is because I would need your cooperation. I can see that you are a young man of great potential, I am certain that you can assist the FBI. The NPA is too depend on L. It's time that something is done, because too many lives are at stake while we wait for one man to solve a case of international importance."

Light was still not convinced that Yuuta was not the spy, which L had mentioned. However, he chose to pretend to believe Yuuta after requesting to see his FBI batch, and making a mental note to check if this identity was true, through hacking later that night.

"The FBI has deduced for a fact that the murders that have been occurring were done by a single individual. You had no way of accessing the resources, which the FBI has but you came to the same conclusion, even before our agents did the job. That is remarkable, and that's why I am getting in touch with you. First of all, I would like to ask if I can have your full cooperation on this matter."

"Yes, I will help anyway I can," Light said, fake enthusiasm and all. Inside adrenaline was really peaking. He had no way of knowing if this guy was legit or not. From what he knew about the man behind these murders it was highly possible that he was going to be milked for facts, before getting shot in the middle of the busy restaurant. Light had to play his cards very carefully…

"Good. First of all, I would like to ask if during your meeting with L he has revealed any information about the suspect's identity?" Yuuta asked in hushed tones.

"No, I am afraid not, and I am also afraid that I have taken an oath to not reveal any further details about this meeting than the ones formally discussed in the NPA."

"I understand. It's a valuable quality to keep your mouth shut even under pressure," Yuuta commented. He smiled slightly, a smile, which Light was not completely convinced in. "It's a good asset for an FBI agent."

"Listen, Light," Yuuta began again, "L is notorious for hiding information. He is like a child – stubborn; brilliant, but stubborn. He doesn't like opposition. He would withhold his finds even if it means the deaths of civilians, for as long as it takes him to figure cases out all by himself. He always works alone and he would never accept anyone helping him or would share the glory."

Light neither agreed nor disagreed to the statement. However, it did sound true to him, having met the guy. But Light was aware that the agent was trying to pry out of him information to confirm what Yuuta surely suspected – that Light had met L twice. Perhaps Yuuta suspected even more than that, but Light was uncertain.

That statement sounded so true, that it also made Light wonder if L really had any intention to carry out tests and let him work alongside him…

Light wanted to hear more, but Yuuta suddenly cut their meeting short by saying that he had to urgently leave. Light's hands were slightly shaking as various scenarios of how he might get killed in the next few minutes played in his mind, but he managed to give the detective his mobile number in exchange for Yuuta's promise that the two would meet again and discuss further.

Light was left with the sake and a hefty check to cover the bill, and a racing heart. The young man knew that it was no use trying to run at that point. If his murder was planned by this notorious killer, he had no chance, and most likely every scenario he had for leaving the place was covered. So he finished the sake all by himself and paid the bill. Then he casually left and on his way home, he was constantly waiting…

But nothing happened.

On the next morning Light woke up half an hour late and had to rush to his lectures. He had gotten very little sleep the previous night because he had arrived late, after choosing to walk through most of the way (avoiding public transport out of altruism), thus catching the last train and then walking for a long time until he reached the area where he lived, having missed the last bus. He had felt knackered and jumped in bed without checking the FBI agent's identity.

Thinking about the previous night's discussion, Light thought that perhaps Yuuta was legit and he really was FBI, for Light hadn't been killed that night. It wasn't the murder's style to approach victims before their deaths, and it was definitely not his style to leave them living for a while, after having chosen to kill them. So Light assumed that rationally speaking, he was safe.

Strangely his gut feeling was somewhat unpleasant about the thought of Yuuta Sato, but it was most likely from the reality of the cheap sake he had drank the previous night.

At university, the brunette only half-paid attention to the professor's drone about law and ethics, allowing his mind to wonder. His dual life of being a college student with a thriving social life, a girlfriend and a few "close" acquaintances and the life of a young man attending meetings at the NPA until late at night was starting to wear on him.

And the sudden change of pace - he had met L and all of a sudden the World's Greatest Detective had taken interest in him, and just over a week later he was contacted by an undercover FBI agent, who wanted his help to resolve the case without the help of L, who rejected the police. All the while, lives were at stake, including Light's own.

Strangely, the thing that nagged on Light the most was not the danger, but the question whether or not what the FBI agent had said was true. Was L too childish to share knowledge and power? What were the chances that his man would ever let him work together? Perhaps the detective had just made an empty promise to get rid of Light that night at the dinner…

Light had made quite a fool of himself that night.

He ran his fingers through his brilliant brunette locks and suppressed a frustrated growl. He refused to think about how he had acted and felt when L had made him sound and seem like a dimwit baby.

In stead he thought of what he truly wanted. The competitive streak in Light didn't really want to work FOR L, did it? What Light truly wanted was to be better than L. To beat him at his own game...

Perhaps the FBI agent was legit, and Light could use his help to capture the man before L did. Oh, how Light wanted to see the black-haired man's face when he was outdone…

After a pleasant hour and a half of fantasising of seeing L lose (the course of the Law and Ethics lecture), Light went to pick up Takada from where they usually met. She beamed at him and engaged in a pleasant casual conversation, which only took a part of Light's attention, while he used his other part of the brain to scheme.

He had L in his mind's eye, he could see him so well, he could totally picture his face and...

Wait a second!

Is that? Light caught himself just in time before his jaw fell on the ground as he walked on a park alley surrounded by Takada and a group of "friends" who were always tagging along.

It was him.

Sitting in that outlandish squatting position on top of a bench, alone in the park, and looking straight at him, the black-haired detective was waving awkwardly in his direction.

Light took a deep breath and calmed himself before going to the bench, making-up a fake introduction for the unruly man and shaking off his entourage to have some time alone with the detective.

"Ryuuzaki, would you like to grab lunch with me? I know a place with a great desert selection?" Light said.

"Yes, indeed. I am starving," L responded, getting up.

Light secretly stared him down, noting the awful posture, which seemed worse than it had been at the hotel.

It was awkward trying to talk to the man as they walked together to Light's favourite café. The younger man couldn't quite believe he was seeing L outside.

Light was well aware that L had been monitoring him – his room had been searched on one day, and even though everything had been left in perfect condition, Light had noticed the wrong angle at which his doorknob had been left – completely closed, whereas he always left it halfway pressed. That was the only indication that someone had been into his room, on two consecutive days. Later no one had entered again.

Light was not stupid and had known that it could only be the detective nosing around. At the time he had felt a bit flattered, because he supposed that it meant that the detective's interest in him was genuine and that he was running background checks on him.

However, Light didn't think he would see the detective so soon! He had thought that L would remain out of reach until the case was closed. Then another thought crossed Light's mind. What if L knew about Yuuta and their meeting from the previous night!

It was probably the reason for the surprise meeting. Keeping this in mind, Light tried to seem as natural and innocent as possible. He did his best to put on his best acting and pretended to show friendly interest in L, as an innocent college student would do to a friend.

While they were ordering he looked over L, trying to latch onto something to talk about.

"Your eyes are grey," Light observed as they stood at the bar.

"Huh," L stared blankly at him. Perhaps he hadn't heard well.

"I said - your eyes are grey. I was under the impression that they were completely black," Light explained.

L just stared at him.

Perhaps he thought Light was stupid for bringing up such an insignificant detail. Light managed to smile dismissively and added,

"Never mind, it's nothing important."

The skinny pale guy ordered pretty much the entire café's sweets' supply or so it seemed to Light as he watched in horror L choosing more and more deserts. Resigned to his fate, Light didn't say anything.

Thankfully with his charms, Light quickly attracted a group of people to help him carry L's order to the table, while the man sat there like a princess and waited to be served. The detective did seem to be a really spoilt brat.

Nevertheless, Light sighed the irritation away and sipped on his coffee while he ate a western-style brown-bread sandwich with lean turkey meat and lettuce. He liked the honey-mustard and mayo sauce that plastered the ingredients together.

But a while passed and nothing particular was happening. They just kept eating, and sipping on their coffees (if L's sugar with coffee on top counted as one). L seemed to be hiding his motives very well, but what was he hoping to achieve if he didn't say anything at all? He didn't bring up Yuuta or the FBI, or anything for the longest time. In stead he tried testing Light's intelligence with some silly tests that he had brought. Light wondered what game the man was playing.

L was just staring at him for prolonged intervals of time and Light wondered what the point of it was. Was L trying to read his mind? Was he reading his mind!

L blinked and looked away, staring out the window and then thoughtfully digging into one of his desserts again.

Light's patience was wearing thin by the suspense and he finally snapped inside. Outwardly, however, he pretended to be late for his next lecture and excused himself very gracefully.

Suddenly something yanked at his sleeve and Light spun around. It was L – holding his shirt's sleeve pinched between two fingers.

"Do you have to go to your next lecture?" L asked looking up at him. His dark eyes, and the dark circles underneath him, made him look kind of sad and pathetic but Light knew better than to assume that L was just requesting for his company.

"It depends. What do you mean?" Light said, feeling his shoulders very tense from the contact. L was not letting go of his sleeve.

"I was thinking that I could use your help on some of the evidence I have gathered. I think it would be a good way to estimate your capacity if you come work with me," L said, the edge of his spoon knocking against his lower teeth repeatedly in the pause after he spoke.

The clicking sound could drive Light insane, if he paid attention to it.

"The lecture is not that important," Light said feeling smugness all over himself. The competitive streak in his character was really burning him up.

It was very likely that L had some ulterior motives to be asking for this, but Light was ready to meet them, because this was going to be an amazing opportunity to find out who L suspected! The risk was worth it – he could handle whatever L had in mind, and if he found out who L's suspect was, that would make things so much easier for him to beat L to catching the murderer with the help of Yuuta and the FBI!

"I would gladly come and help," Light said pleasantly.

L stared up at him, the spoon now locked between his teeth. Light tried moving his arm just a bit, hoping that L would get the hint and release his sleeve.

"The NPA hasn't been making any progress," Light tried again, moving his arm discreetly but L wouldn't let go.

"I think it would also be fun," Light added to fill the awkward silence.

L smiled weirdly around the spoon that was still between his teeth. The expression looked very out of place on his sleepless face.

"I am glad to hear that," L said suddenly getting up from his crouch, leaving the spoon and his unfinished deserts behind, and dragging Light out of the café by the sleeve.

Light stumbled after him, feeling all the gazes of the other customers on them.

His face was beginning to colour and Light promised himself that would never set foot near the south-eastern part of the campus again! Screw eating lunch – Light was going on a diet.


	7. Little Thrills

Stepping out of the café, Light forcefully snatched his sleeve out of the detective's hold. The detective ignored the slightly dangerous look that the teen was giving him and walked forward a few meters, pulling out his iPhone and typing on it. Light followed, wondering if the lanky detective was just going to ignore him and play with his mobile phone, now that Light had wretched himself out of his two-finger clasp.

Then suddenly L spun around and shoved his iPhone in the brunette's face. Light flinched back on reflex, before focusing his eyes on what the strange dark-haired man had typed on the screen.

It was the address of a(n expensive) hotel, which Light knew about. Light had but a brief second to glance at it before L removed it from his sight.

"Take us there, losing any possible tails we might have," is all L said.

In the split second after seeing the screen Light had all the possible roots visualised in his almost photographic memory of Tokyo's street map. He made the calculation and turned around, walking the other way, already having decided which root to take. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips on the side that the detective wasn't able to see.

L was right beside him, his expression blank. The detective had only shown Light the address for as long as it would have take the younger man to focus his eyes on the text, in that way testing Light's visual memory. Light had done well, memorizing the screen and reading it in his mind, taking less than a second to react and start walking. It was the type of speed that L was looking for in an assistant.

Light lead the way to the high-street and took them on a bus, which in turn took them to Shibuya, a district crowded with youth. L stepped outside in the lively crowd and followed Light as the brunette took him through a few shops pretending to be looking for something. He even conversed (rather one-sidedly) with L about buying a new shirt. Finally they went into a large shopping mall. There were thousands of people moving around them, but somehow the detective didn't feel anxious or self-conscious while he had the task with Light. A few candy shops caught his eye, but he found even his sugar cravings not as bad as usual and ignored them completely.

The duo went around the different levels, capturing a lot of attention (gawking girls for Light, and frowns for L) before getting into an elevator, which lead into the basement car park. They exited on foot to the highway, where Light waved down a taxi. L felt impressed by the originality of the idea – casually walking out from the underground car park was not something that he expected. They quickly jumped into the backseat of the cab, which was eager to start driving again, given the driver had stopped in a rather hazardous way to pick them up.

The mid-afternoon sky had become heavily overcast with dark clouds while they had been inside the shopping mall and the wind was accelerating. It looked like it was going to rain. Thankfully, they were inside the car. L sat behind the driver's seat, while Light gave the instructions to another prominent Tokyo hotel, which wasn't L's. The dark haired man found his eyes wondering to Light, who was a bit less shiny in the gloom, but even though all the brunette did at that moment was sit on the seat beside him, propping his chin on one elbow, hooked over the passenger seat in front of him, L couldn't help but stare.

Light finally acknowledged him and looked back at L, just staring back at him. No questions, no disapproval, no expression whatsoever. Just staring back. Those eyes now looked a dark, desaturated brown, which somehow was just as becoming on Light, as was the rich chocolate shade they had over a candlelit dinner. L felt a pang in his chest and had to look away because his heart began racing for no reason whatsoever and his blood pressure was surely going up.

He looked outside. For some reason, the moment had felt intense. Light's face was still in his mind's eye. L wondered what had been there in that gaze, except pure observation? Perhaps nothing, however, L couldn't catch his breath. He was very good at hiding it though. And soon he felt Light's eyes move away from him and he could sigh in relief, not daring to look at him again during the ride.

They arrived at their destination and Light paid the cab driver. L got off his side of the car and walked with Light straight into the hotel. Light headed towards the reception, taking out his mobile phone and calling another cab at the same time. In stead at the reception, Light lead L out of the hotel through another entrance, which lead to a different street. Their new taxi was already waiting for them, and this time Light told the driver the correct address, so in no time they were at L's hotel.

It was a relief to finally be in his own territory, and once inside L's flat, the detective felt his confidence and control go up.

Meanwhile, Light was shocked by the amount of equipment he saw just lying around the apartment, which L had been occupying for a little over a week. There was far more then when he had first visited L's, with computers and various electronics, not to mention piles upon piles of paperwork and different evidence files scattered around the large presidential suit.

"How do you explain this to the hotel's cleaning staff," Light asked.

"Watari cleans," L explained, while making his way through the stacks of papers. He had left without any inclination to leading Light back to the hotel with him. Had he known, he would have locked half of the stuff away.

Suddenly Whammy appeared at the doorframe that led into the large dinning room, wearing what only L could recognise as his shocked-out-of-his-mind poker face expression.

"Would the gentlemen be requiring something?" Whammy immediately adopted his butler facade, masking the incredibility of the event that L actually had brought a visitor, the Yagami boy above all.

Light hesitated, uncertain what Watari really stood for - a common butler or a high-class agent, who was L's key link for communication with the world. So he looked to see how L would treat the offer.

"Bring me that strawberry cheesecake and a cup of tea," L said quite rudely, and then in an afterthought added, "What would Light-kun require?"

"A cup of black coffee would be superb," Light said, deciding that he'd probably figure Watari out later.

"Some cake perhaps?" L probed.

"No, thank you, I just had lunch," Light said, cringing a little bit at the thought of seeing L eat more cake.

"Are you certain," L didn't seem convinced. "You didn't have any desert."

"I am not too fond of sweets," Light allowed a little truth about himself to slide past.

"What about ice cream?"

"Ice cream counts as a sweet."

"Oh, so Light-kun dislikes sweets in general, and it's not just a dislike towards specific types of sweet things such as cakes or ice cream?"

"Yes. You can put it that way."

"Does that mean that you don't enjoy candy either?"

"Yes, this means that I don't like sweet things in general."

"Even chocolate?"

"Even chocolate."

"Even bitter black chocolate?"

"Even 99% cocoa chocolate."

"Does this dislike include fruits as well?"

"No, it doesn't."

"How does that make sense? You said that you don't make a difference between sweet things – you said that you dislike them all. So if you like fruits, that means, that you don't dislike sweet taste in general – you dislike pastry, chocolate, candy, cakes, ice cream…"

L went on cataloging what Light dislike, and what he must like, while Whammy excused himself and went to the kitchen to fetch them the tea, café and half of a cheesecake for L.

He heard a scream coming from the other room.

"Bring Light-kun some strawberries," it was L.

Followed by:

"I SAID, I DON'T WANT ANY," the brunette boy, who was miraculously only now beginning to lose his temper with the black-haired prodigy.

More arguing was heard, but when Watari was back both parties were quiet, having reached some sort of a conclusion. The brunette's did look as if he had just lost a few years of his life from irritation and L did seem on the verge of tears from being deeply offended, or as close as he had ever looked to tears, but everything was still in one piece and both parties were still breathing.

Whammy left them alone and L sat on his favourite green-leather sofa, which had enough space for them both, but Light chose to pull a chair and sit on the other side of the coffee table in stead of joining him. L moved to sit in the center, trying to cover the fact that he had left some space for Light initially. The detective grabbed the cake tray and dug in, while Light held his cup of coffee and sipped quietly.

The brunette watched as L casually stirred his tea and added cube after cube of sugar. The cubes fell in, causing splashes in the liquid, which was set on top of a pile of documents. Miraculously none of the papers seemed damaged and no crumbs nor tea spots could be spotted anywhere. A sharp contrast to the mess he had seen the first time he had visited L. And despite the hazardous way that the detective sat and held things he seemed to have a proficient balance and grip and he was meticulous enough not to damage anything.

As a matter of fact, despite L's gluttony, his clothes looked pristine clean as well, even though they were the same every time that Light had met with him. It was all kind of strange and Light was beginning to feel curious about this man.

Generally Light had everyone figured out in the first few minutes of having met them. Some people managed to surprise him here and there, but nobody had ever puzzled him as much as L. This lack of control made Light intimidated, angry and extremely careful.

"I will have to let you in on the secret of whom I suspect for these murders, in order to test your investigation capabilities," L said suddenly, surprising Light once again.

"I appreciate your trust," Light said, placing the coffee cup on its plate on his knee. He didn't want to hide behind his cup while speaking to the detective – the idea was to appear opened and direct.

"I don't trust you, not in the least," L said bluntly, throwing Light off yet again. "However, it is a necessary risk to take if we are ever going to cooperate."

Light suppressed his frown and in stead he forced a friendly smile.

"And if any information leaks, I would know exactly who is responsible, so I think 'trusting' you is not an altogether unwise decision."

"How long do I have and what can I use?" Light asked with a measured sigh to enact a state of disappointment at not being trusted plus some compliance.

"You have the least amount of time you could take. Work as if the building was on fire and all the evidence would be inevitably destroyed," L said with the same monotonous voice, while raising both arms in the air for dramatic emphasis. He looked ridiculous in Light's eyes and the younger man glared at him.

"Imagine that no other evidence could ever be acquired and you are the last investigator on the face of the Earth," the detective added for even more (failed and unnecessary) dramatic effect, while staring at Light with those wide opened eyes and shaking his raised arms.

Light wondered if L was insane or if the great detective was secretly laughing at him and mocking him. It surely was starting to look as if the latter was true. It looked like a jab to Light's acting, but it couldn't have been. L was buying Light's acting, right?

L wasn't buying any of Light's acting and he knew that despite the calm front, the younger man was very irritated. Strangely, it gave the dark-haired youth a great thrill to mess with his attractive would-be-partner.

Light finally broke eye contract and glared at the floor in stead. He was staring to turn red and maybe fume a little bit out of his ears. Or was it the detective's imagination? L decided that it had been enough fun and that it was time to get serious once again. He let his out-raised arms fall to his sides with a slap.

"My suspect is Takuya Yamamoto," L changed the subject.

"The Yamamoto corporation largest shareholder?" Light suddenly looked up with interest.

"Obviously," L said, loving once again the flicker of irritation that Light was trying to hide. L hated to admit it to himself, but he WAS getting off on making him angry, "He is the grandson of the founder of the Yamamoto corporation. And, he is the only one who has both the resources and the intelligence to be organising these murders and also the financial benefit."

"Are you certain," Light said. "Do you have any concrete evidence?"

Now it was L's turn to get irritated.

"Yes, I do. And it's all in this room," L gestured abstractly around. "This is pile is case files on his career, this pile is his personal life, this pile is other suspects, this one is the evidence of the murders, these are on his victims…" L left his snacks and got to work, moving stuff around and piling things on the floor by Light.

"Let me set up an account with limited access on this laptop, so you can see what you need to see from the electronic stuff... You are going to need all of these, and you," L stopped to turn directly at him, now suddenly scrutinising the brunette with a serious look, "if you are smart enough, you will be able to come to the same conclusion as I have."

Light, who had watched him attentively, memorising everything and snatching quick glances at the things which L did not give him access to, also got up and stepped towards the great detective. It was strange, this man, who didn't look like much, was proving to really be worth the big deal of fuss, which world leaders were making about him. Somehow, Light now knew that THIS was L, the real one, something in the man's suddenly confident stance, and the look he was giving him, made Light certain, that this couldn't be an impersonator.

"Is that what you want me to do? Use the evidence to come to a conclusion and tell you how I've done it?" Light kept his cool, despite the sudden wave of admiration and apprehension he felt for this man.

"No, I'd like you to come up with the questions to be asked to Takuya once he is arrested and questioned for a confession," L said flatly.

Light felt a thrill of both worry and excitement run over him. L was asking for a lot. It wasn't just figuring out what L had figured out with all the evidence and clues provided. Light had to understand the case and the murderer so well, that he had to come up with questions that could break his psyche during the interrogation, and coax a confession.

Not to mention that L probably lied about whom he suspected. Perhaps this was another trick to fool him and make Light work to figure out who the real suspect was...

"To give you a hint," L said, turning three quarters away from Light and smiling just a bit, "I did not lie about my suspect's identity."

Was that man reading Light's mind? Light could hardly hide how horrified he felt. Perhaps L had a supernatural ability that was the reason why he was so good! He could guess Light's favourite meals, now he was borderline reading his thoughts!

Did he also know what Light thought of his physical appearance and manners...

"That should save you some time," L added and walked out of the main room. "And don't think that I won't be monitoring you, even while I'm not in the room. Don't touch anything that I haven't given you access to," he called out as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Light found himself in the middle of the case-file/equipment crowded living room, feeling more confused and overwhelmed than he had ever felt in his life. He knew he could do it, but it was quite a lot. And he was expected to work as if "the building was on fire" and all that crap.

Light probably had to sleep over, in order to get the best result as soon as possible. However, the brunette did not want to seem too enthusiastic to leave his "life" behind – he had to show that he had other things to do as well, besides being L's bitch. It was important to establish it early on that he wasn't going to kiss the detective's angular ass.

"I do need to be gone by 9 pm," Light called after L. "I have to study."

The illusive detective materialised at the door frame and gave him a prolonged blank look.

"Very well," was all that he said.

Light ended up staying that night. Working. His. Ass. Off.


	8. Miscalculation

It rained heavily that was working on the case, while L was working on planning Takuya's arrest, which the detective scheduled for the day after.

The younger man hadn't left at 9 PM, which was a very good sign. L had made an internal ultimatum that if Light left that evening, then he wasn't worth the time or training. Dedication was key. If Light needed to do whatever 'normal activities' young people did at his age, and if Light wasn't willing to sacrifice all of that, then he could never qualify for L's assistant or successor.

Light had stayed. Why, L couldn't fathom. He hadn't told Light that he was a day away from arresting Takuya. For all Light knew, he could have been doing work, which would never see the light of day. Yet, the younger man had stayed.

And while Light furiously read, taking in pages after pages with impressive speed reading technique, L only seldom glanced at him. He did have his own very serious work to do – the arrest procedure had to go flawlessly. L was going to use the NPA's assistance and have Wedy as his back up plan. So L had a lot to think about.

And weirdly, some part of the detective felt oddly satisfied and at peace, now that Light was there, at a glance away. L could finally focus again. He could leave all the spying and tracking of Light's secret life for later, because Light was right there – working for L, with him.

It was a very satisfying feeling. And a part of L felt very pleased with himself as well. He had gotten what he had wanted once again. It was one of those childish traits that L possessed – the need to get everything he wanted. And usually with the acquisition of each new thing, the pleasure quickly subsided. It was a comforting notion, because L was uncomfortable with the zeal with which he had wanted Light. Now Light was acquired. So, thankfully, L could rest, and get back to normal.

Or at least, that's what he thought in that moment as he got the first rest from the constant pressure he had been under for the past three weeks.

L glanced at the digital clock on the corner of his favourite laptop. It was 5:45 AM and outside was still very dark with the stormy clouds and the rain. L was pretty much done for the night, having completed his tasks with a performance that was 25% better than his mean best. In simple words, L was performing better than usual. Given that L had been under-performing for quite a while now, he felt very pleased with himself.

It called for the unusual event of sleep to occur. On the bed. But somehow, L didn't want to go to sleep while Light was still working. It seemed like a wasteful activity while he watched Light being so creative and so hard at work. Seeing the brilliant brunette work inspired L to do more.

But at the same time, Light looked very tired. His eyes were dull and reddened. A part of L wanted to see how much Light could take, while another part of him wanted the younger man to get his rest and regenerate. There was something sadistic about wanting to see when and how Light would break. L had worked much longer and much harder and had endured much more pressure than what Light was doing that night. However, he hadn't started that way…

L realised that he had stared at Light for some time. He was done with his tasks, so he decided to close his laptop and go openly observe the younger man as he worked. He was in his right to do so, and it was going to look natural, given that he was testing him.

L got up from the single couch, which he had occupied for that night's work, while Light had occupied the long corner green-leather sofa, which L favoured. The detective moved a pile of paper out of the way and crouched on the seat a small distance away from Light. There were still piles of evidence between them, but it felt sort of intimate to share a couch with someone.

The sound of rain and the buzz of electronic equipment was all that was heard in the silence, along with Light's flipping of pages.

Suddenly Light noticed the detective, who was nibbling on his thumb while staring at him from a few feet away on the couch. A sharp inhale of breath exited the now dry lips of the tired Japanese man, one that he could have suppressed if he hadn't been so exhausted.

Light closed his eyes for a moment, massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. With his eyes closed, his brows closely knit and the dark circles forming underneath his tired eyes, Light looked more sincere than ever. It was an interesting sight to see. Usually Light was all about masks and integrity. But now he was too tired to play his role of perfection. Something about that was more compelling than the confidence and posture of an underwear model, which Light usually exhibited.

L felt fascination gnaw on his tired brain. Perhaps the detective needed to go get his well-deserved rest as well, instead of impairing Light's performance by staring at him and therefore disturbing him. And it seemed like Light couldn't focus while L was there to scrutinise him. It was important for the younger man to learn to perform under pressure but maybe it wasn't the best time to start for both of them.

L hesitated. He wanted to call it a night, and a part of him wanted to tell Light to get rest as well. But another part of him was yearning for exactly the opposite.

In the end, L stayed there all night and Light wordlessly fought to adjust.

The morning found them both exhausted, Light more so than L. The brunette worked until 1:27 PM that day, when he finally scrambled to his feet, almost losing his balance. He steadied himself slowly like a drunken man would have done.

Slowly, with as much concentration and grace as the brunette managed, Light turned to L, who hadn't moved from the sofa next to him since he had first occupied it. The detective hadn't broken his stare even to check what he was eating, when Watari had brought them the morning tray of breakfast.

The exhausted young man handed L a typed piece of paper, containing the questions, which he had devised for the interrogation of Takuya, based on his work for the past hours. The dark-haired detective took the paper and looked at it.

Light didn't wait for his response. He walked towards the exit, not even bothering to turn to judge the detective's reaction. He didn't even bother to say goodbye or that he'd be expecting feedback. Light felt certain that all this was unnecessary. The man had worked him like a slave driver, pressured him until the end, and surely had all the means to contact him when and if he'd ever be necessary again. Light couldn't function another hour without sleep, so that was all that was on his mind. He needed to get rest before he collapsed.

"Your taxi home is waiting, sir," Watari appeared out of nowhere, helping Light into his jacket. The brunette might have objected if he hadn't been on autopilot at that point.

Thanking the elderly servant half-heartedly, Light walked out of the apartment.

Once the door was shut L got up, stretching his aching legs in the process. He stood upright on the couch before stepping down on the carpet. He had read and re-read the proposed questions a few times already and was quite impressed. He was trying desperately to find a flaw, but Light had managed to capture all the points, which L had wanted to cover and had put them into words in exactly the way that appealed to L. It was almost as if L had wrote the questions himself. The detective was beyond impressed.

As he still rubbed his lower lip in deep thought while staring at the sheet of paper in his hand, L was quite rudely pulled out of his pleasant musing by the voice of his old mentor.

"Why did you do that?" Whammy demanded not so gently. "Do you expect him to return after today?"

L stared back, trying to kick his brain back into the correct gear, despite his exhaustion.

"It gave him a good taste of what is to come if he chooses to work with me," L responded quickly enough.

"I don't think he'd be choosing that. You put him under way too much pressure for a first-timer," Whammy scolded and turned away, clearly thinking that the argument was over.

L barely held back a poisonous comment that his old mentor clearly had a change of heart since the time when he had begun training L as a boy. It was right on the tip of his tongue, but the detective deduced that saying something like that was going to sound bitter, which he couldn't afford to sound like. L was all about stone-carved integrity. So in stead he turned away and walked to the bedroom. He deserved 30 minutes of rest. Not more.

…

Upon arrival Light found his family's house empty, as he had expected it to be at 3:30 PM. The young man dragged himself up the stairs to his room and fell asleep as soon as he was close enough to his bed to fall directly face-front on it.

About 5 hours later, the brunette woke up with tossed hair, completely ruined, wrinkled shirt and pants, his jacket halfway down one of his arms, and his hand still clutching his maroon tie, as he had fallen fast asleep before managing to fully undo it and take I t off.

It was a miracle he hadn't strangled himself, Light thought. However, who did Light owe the inexpressible pleasure of being awoken mere 5 hours after he had claimed his divine right to rest, was the question that occupied Light's semi-awake brain as the cell phone rang for the second time, the first time going unanswered.

Reaching over to clasp the offending device, Light glared daggers at the screen.

A hidden caller.

With a feral growl and an angry flip Light sat up to answer the call assuming that it had to be L.

"Yes," Light snarled.

"Light-kun," a voice that was most definitely not L's answered. Light suddenly woke up and his brain picked up speed to match the tune of the voice to an identity. "I need to meet with you. Urgently."

"Sato-san?" Light took a guess.

"Yes, it's me! Call me Yuuta," the young officer with the ponytail answered over the line. "I hope this is not a big inconvenience for you, Light-kun, but we need to meet as soon as possible!"

"No, no problem," Light tried his best to sound alert and ready, while getting up and beginning to straighten yesterday's college attire, which he had worked and slept in. "Where…"

"Meet me at the address which I'll text to you at 22:00. And don't tell anyone from the NPA about it! Not even your father. I must go."

Yuuta hang up without further explanations or hearing Light's answer.

'Might be an FBI thing,' Light thought with irritation. He had an unpleasant gut feeling about it, but he didn't really have enough time to check Yuuta Sato's identity as an FBI agent. Glancing at the clock, Light saw that it was already nearly 8 PM. And if the address was far away…

A beep announced the arrival of a text message and Light checked to see the address, which Yuuta had sent him.

Naka Ward wasn't on the other side of Tokyo, but Light still needed to leave immediately in order to make it by 10 PM.

It was turning out to be a very stressful week for Light. What he hated the most was that he felt unprepared for all of these events. Both the FBI agent and L were pulling him around and didn't allow him enough reaction time to play his game safe. There had been no way to be prepared for any of it, and Light hated the situation, because it made him vulnerable.

Light only had time to wash his face, straighten his clothing and hair as much as possible, splash some cologne, grab some mints for his breath and a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Light, I didn't know you were home, honey!" his mom called from the living room as Light ran down the stairs.

"I was napping in my room, I have a very important group meeting to attend to for college, mom," Light called as he ran into the corridor and grabbed a hand bag for his things. "I must run in order not to be late," Light slipped on his shoes and stopped for a second, hesitating.

He really hated feeling so vulnerable and misinformed and a part of him did not trust Yuuta completely.

Light dismissed it, thinking that he was probably just paranoid, so he packed his bag and put on his grey coat.

"Ok, dear, don't be late!" his mom called. "Bye-bye and I love you!"

Light changed his mind in the last moment and opened his dad's tools cabinet to retrieve a genuine Swiss knife. It had a small blade, but it was better than nothing, and it was considered legal to have it.

"I love you too, mom," Light called somewhat distractedly before putting the knife into the left-hand sleeve pocket, which he had made in his coat and leaving out the door. "Bye!"

…

Walking to the exact location, Light wished that he had either been called by a visible number, so that he could have called back Sato and made some details clearer, or that he wasn't crazy enough to actually attend the meeting. It was dark at 10 PM and he wasn't in the best area of Tokyo to be taking a late night walk.

Most likely, this was the most uncertain place he had ever been to in his entire life, and given the scarce information, which Yuuta had disclosed over the line, it didn't bode well.

Looking back, Light wouldn't have allowed Yuuta to tell him so little, if he had been more awake in that moment. Thinking about it, Light wouldn't have even gone, if he wasn't so keen on working with the FBI, for the purpose of catching Takuya before L managed to. Light still wanted to out best L in this game, and this was a risk, which he had to take, if he hoped to achieve that goal. If he didn't do it, then he'd forever have to kiss L's ass and allow himself to be slave-driven into dull tasks, because L would never have the respect for him.

If Light managed to catch this suspect before L, then the dynamics in their future cooperation was going to be much more favourable for Light.

So, what Light hoped for, as he walked under the Metropolitan express root highway, in an area that serviced the industrial pier in Naka Ward, was that being asked to go there was a test for his bravery and willingness for cooperation with the FBI. If it wasn't, and it was a trap, then Light was at a considerable disadvantage.

Above cars were speeding on several layers of elevated motorways, but bellow, at this time of the night there was absolutely no one in sight. Light walked for over 20 minutes from the nearest station to the place specified on the text message, using his cell phone's GPS. It took him around many empty car parks, loading docks and warehouses, which served the nearby pier. During the day, the sight was surely busy with workers but at night, it was all very quiet, cold and humid with the salty air of Tokyo Bay.

Light found his GPS pointing to an area right underneath the tall highway bridges, where the streetlamp illumination was not reaching. At a first glance it all looked empty, and abandoned, but as Light approached he noticed a black car pulled over to the side of the street. Suddenly a lighter flicker on and a cigarette was lit.

Light strained his eyes to make out Yuuta's dim outline in the semi-darkness beneath the bridge. The man, who had already noticed Light waved at him in a friendly and reassuring way, and gestured for the younger man to approach.

Light suppressed a sigh, seeing that Yuuta was alone was a good sign. However, Light's brushed his fingers against the small knife in his left sleeve to make sure it was well in reach.

The brunette quietly joined the young officer in the darkness beneath the bridge.

"Did anyone follow you," Yuuta asked, his long black hair pulled back in the same manner as always. His eyes were friendly but something made the younger man feel uneasy.

"Not that I'm aware of," Light answered, hiding his paranoia very well.

"You did not make it to yesterday's NPA meeting," the taller man pointed out and manoeuvred to stand closer to Light.

"I didn't think that it was important and I had a date," Light lied quickly.

Yuuta was about a foot taller than him and when standing so close in an abandoned (and therefore spacious) place he managed to make Light feel intimidated. However, the brunette straightened up as tall as he could and looked into the other's dark eyes boldly.

"Did I miss anything important?"

"As a matter of fact, you did, but we can't discuss this now," Yuuta said, putting his hand on Light's shoulder and leading him to the concrete wall of the bridge's foundation.

Light didn't struggle or shy away from the contact. He knew that he shouldn't allow himself to be cornered, but he thought that he had the situation under his control. He had a knife in case things went bad, after all, and he wasn't afraid to use it.

So he put on naïve and trusting façade and willingly leaned back on the concrete.

"How come we can't discuss this now?" Light smiled sweetly at the taller man. "Isn't this why you summoned me here?"

"I summoned you here, because I thought that you were willing to collaborate with the FBI, isn't that right, Light?" Yuuta answered, standing directly in front of Light, with his hands in is pockets.

"Yes, that's right," Light said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"So we are going to have to expect to be very honest and truthful with each other, right Light," Yuuta continued in a tone, which felt a bit demeaning, as if he was speaking to a child.

"What are you getting at? You want information? I don't know anything besides what the NPA knows…" Light began feeling his irritation spike.

"Now, Light, are you going to be honest or not?" Yuuta was closing in on him. "We have some reasons to believe that you have more information about L than you let out."

Light didn't say anything, trying really hard to decide if he believed this man to be who he claimed to be, or not.

"It is of extreme importance that you answer this truthfully," Yuuta continued. "Have you met with L another time?"

"I already said that I can't discuss any information about the meeting I had with L…" Light tried but was cut off by Yuuta's hand pressing his chest to the wall behind him rather forcefully. That didn't bode well at all.

"Listen, Light, the FBI has serious reasons to believe that you have met with L once more, and if you are not willing to disclose this information…" Yuuta was leaning close to his face and Light suddenly shoved him off.

"I am not willing to…" Light began as he made for an escape, but Yuuta suddenly grasped him by the collar and threw him back against the wall with surprising strength. Light struggled as the man pressed his fists against the underside of his chin.

"Listen, Light! You have to choose your side now, and choose wisely. You either work for L or the FBI. I suggest you chose our side now, because otherwise..." Yuuta pressed Light's head to the concrete wall forcefully, making Light hiss in pain.

"I refuse to be blackmailed!" Light shouted with his eyes tightly closed as he tried to fight the other man's large hands off. "If anything happens to me, I am certain that the NPA will trace it back to you, so I would let me go if I were you!"

Yuuta laughed and threw Light to the ground. Before the lighter man managed to scramble to his feet, Yuuta's foot was placed on his head.

"What a spoiled brat you are," Yuuta hissed venomously, making Light's blood chill. "You think daddy is going to come an save you just because he is chief of police? Well, let me break it to you, brat, you are nothing! And I don't have to let you go, and you better start answering my questions now before I get angry. WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF L?"

Light made an attempt to escape, but Yuuta pressed his foot harder to his head, pinning him to the ground and eliciting a strangled groan from the younger man.

"Who does L suspect? Where is he?" Yuuta demanded.

"I don't know!" Light cried out somewhat desperately. "I haven't met with L!"

"Lies!" Yuuta lifted him up, still holding him by the collar, and avoiding to directly squeeze his neck. In the daze of his panic, Light managed to notice that the long-haired man was wearing leather gloves and avoided physical contact as much as possible. It was very suspicious – as if the man didn't want to leave any clues…

Yuuta shook Light harshly before throwing him to the wall again. Light's head hit the concrete and he slid down helplessly until he was sitting on the ground. The taller Japanese man put the tip of his expensive leather shoe to Light's solar split.

"You don't want me to press there, Light," Yuuta almost cooed to him.

Light let out a strangled cry before the other man applied a bit of pressure, not enough to hurt him, but enough to startle him.

"No, stop! I will cooperate!" Light shouted, secretly getting a good grip of the knife in his left hand's sleeve

"Good boy," Yuuta pulled him up to his feet when suddenly Light swung the knife in his direction, only barely scratching the bridge of his nose because the taller man managed to jump back in time.

"You little," Yuuta proceeded to curse as he pulled out a gun and pointed it to Light's head. "Drop the knife!"

Light did as he was told, terror taking over him as he began to shake. He hadn't expected to see a gun.

Yuuta grabbed him and roughly pressed him face-down on the trunk of his car, holding the gun to his head as he searched him for other weapons. Upon finishing, the man flipped Light over, pawning his front angrily. Once he was done, he climbed halfway over Light, pressing his knee into the younger man's stomach, causing him to wince in pain and pointing the gun to his mouth, cursing all the way.

"I wish I could break your freaking face…" Yuuta erupted into curses once more.

"We know you have met with L! Now tell where he is!" Yuuta was shouting at him, his expression was twisted and borderline insane with anger.

At least now Light felt almost 100% certain that this man was not FBI. It had to be Takuya's spy, trying to get information on L, and that also meant, that whether Light answered or not, he was dead.

"Where is L hiding!" Yuuta shouted. Pushing the gun so hard against Light's mouth that to save his teeth, Light opened his jaws and allowed the man to shove it in. As he tasted the metallic barrel against his soft tongue tears began sliding down his cheeks. He didn't want to die in that way…

"Answer me!" Yuuta roared and then he remembered to pull the revolver out of Light's mouth and press it to his forehead instead.

"I met with L's associate! Not L!" Light cried, deducing that he must have been spotted with Ryuuzaki the day before, and that had triggered this reaction. He had a better chance of survival if he denied that it had been L. But what excuse to use…

"What is his name? What does he do for L?" Yuuta growled, believing what Light had said.

"Ryuuzaki! He… I don't know what he does for L! Don't even think he has ever met with the true L!" Light lied.

"What did he want from you?"

"Nothing! L is not the reason why I met with him," Light screamed as Yuuta grabbed his chin and forced him to look into his wide, outraged eyes. "I honestly have no idea of L's true identity! You have to understand! I just went out with the guy! Come on, please!"

Suddenly Yuuta's phone rang. The long-haired man casually released Light and walked away a few meters to answer his phone. Light could hear a voice speak over the line, and Yuuta heavily sighed.

"Alright," was all that he said before hanging up. Then he dialed another phone.

"Send the taxi," he ordered in a very calm and collected voice, an abrupt change from the tone he had used to shout in Light's face.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Yagami Light," he turned rather formally to the younger man who was barely recuperating from being pointed a gun at. "It's too bad that you couldn't be of any more use. Now, I think it's time for you to go home."

"What's going on," Light chocked out.

"You can go now," Yuuta said in a calm and rather poisonous tone.

Light scrambled up and prepared to make a run for it, before Yuuta aggressively tackled him to the ground. As they fought, Light suddenly caught sight of his dad's Swiss knife lying close to him and managed to secretly sweep it back into his grasp.

Yuuta hailed him up to his knees by the hair. He held Light down that way until a car appeared from around the corner coming to a screeching stop in front of them. It was a taxi, and from the passenger seat a man with a machine gun got off, still pointing it at the terrified driver.

Yuuta pulled Light up and pushed him roughly to the car.

"Take the nearest road up to Metropolitan express highway and drive towards Kanto," the tall Japanese man sneered to the driver, who was literally pissing his pants from fear and crying out prayers.

Light was thrown on the back seat, the door slammed shut after him.

"And keep the doors locked," Yuuta added in a voice laced with dark amusement as he reached through the opened driver's window to press the 'doors locked' button.

The driver was too afraid to object and nodded wordlessly in agreement, while Light locked gazes with Yuuta, a mixture of horror and understanding in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Light-kun," Yuuta smiled. "DRIVE!"

The taxi driver stepped on it and drove away as quickly as he could.

In the backseat Light wondered how long did he have before an explosive detonated blowing the car to shreds, or a planned accident happened, thus killing him and the misfortunate driver.

It made sense now that Yuuta had tried not to leave any clues or damage him during the interrogation – his death was supposed to seem like an accident.

"Stop the car! Let me out!" Light screamed at the driver, but the man was too shocked to respond or listen to him. "STOP THE CAR!"

Light understood that he couldn't reason with the shocked man. So he tried to force the door opened, but since it was locked, it did not budge. Light tried hitting it, kicking it, and by the time they were starting to climb the street to the highway Light remembered the knife.

The teen pointed it at the driver.

"Stop the car!" he shouted.

"No!" the man screamed and kept driving, in a quick and hazardous way.

"Stop the car or we're both dead!"

"NO! NO! NOOO!" The man screamed.

Suddenly Light lunged over the man, who lost control of the vehicle and pressed the "doors unlock" button before being flung back to the backseat by the driver.

When Light looked up from where he had landed, he saw that at the top of the road, just where they were supposed to get into the highway, there was a roadblock. The driver also noticed that and jumped on the break.

The car started screeching but it was not stopping.

'They cut the breaks!' Light thought in the split second before he opened the door and acting on pure instinct jumped out of the car.

He fell and rolled, scratching his hands, arms, legs but thankfully not hitting his head in the process! In the second before the pain hit him and Light passed out, the young man looked up from where he had landed on his front and saw the taxi collide with the roadblocks and explode.

Light lost consciousness.


	9. A Trap

L woke up to rather unfortunate information. His suspect had disappeared! Packed up and left, as Wedy had reported. L had no idea how and why Yamamoto had decided to disappear on the day before his intended arrest but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the misfortune had happened because he had allowed himself to sleep for 3 hours instead of 30 minutes.

Wedy who had been keeping track on the businessman's "secret" apartment had written in her message that the man had left with nothing but a briefcase. It seemed like he had been in a rush. That could mean a number of things, but the most likely was that Takuya was aware that the detective was on his track. An information leak was the most likely scenario, and the first person that came to mind was Yagami Light…

L tried to kick himself but he didn't manage to bend far enough. In stead he settled for just banging his head against the bathroom cabinet. The shockwaves of the impact ended up knocking over a mirror, which broke into pieces on the marble tiles. L stared at it for a few seconds.

'Seven years of bad love?...' L huffed and took an angry step towards the living room, where he planned to start packing for his own change of location.

Unfortunately his avoidance antic worked against him and in his disregard of the broken mirror he stepped on the broken pieces and cut himself.

Blood was spilling everywhere and L was cursing under his breath as he wished he had at least banged his head a bit harder, because he really deserved it. And all the pain in his scull and feet was not enough to make him feel better about making the mistake of trusting another person.

Sitting on the tub's edge and pulling out pieces of glass from the soles of his feet, L decided to end his emotional outburst and concentrate on dealing with the problem.

"Watari!" he called his mentor's alias, afraid to use his name, given the light of the events.

"Yes?" Whammy called from the other room.

"We need to move immediately – I fear that Yagami has leaked information."

"Understood."

…

At 5 PM that evening they were in a small low-profile hotel. Most of the equipment was shipped abroad, but the most important things were fully set up and operational.

L had managed to stifle his pride enough to call the chief of the police for help.

"… You tell us this now?" Soichiro said in anger and disbelief when L finally explained the situation over the phone.

L wished that he didn't have to sound like his son so much when he was pissed off.

"The leak of information was a very unfortunate and unforeseen event," L said. The detective had calculated that mentioning how Light was most likely responsible for said misfortune, was not the best tactic at the moment, if he wanted to get his father to cooperate.

"I need the NPA's collaboration to make sure Yamamoto Takuya doesn't flee the country," L said after a pause.

"What makes you think that we will cooperate with you again?" Soichiro shouted over the line.

"Because only through mutual effort can we apprehend this criminal," L said. He had expected this reaction. "Failing to arrest this man and allowing him to disappear is going to turn into an international scandal…"

"And a stain on your career," Soichiro interrupted.

L dipped a lollipop into his tea, stirring it. He concentrated on the milky liquid for a moment.

"I have always had the support of local governments and police," he said finally. "Without it I can hardly do my job, since, as we both know, I am just a man. I think that if the NPA refuses to grand me its collaboration, the blame for the failure of this case will fall on you, rather than on me. Do you understand?"

It wasn't a threat – it was the truth.

Soichiro made a long angry pause, during which L's sipped his tea. Finally there was a long sigh coming from the other end of the conversation.

"I will do what I can," Soichiro said through gritted teeth.

"Thank you," L said in forced politeness before hanging up.

"Finally…" L thought as he suppressed a heavy sigh.

What he counted on Soichiro to do was to inform the NPA of the situation (a job that should have been L's but the detective had better uses for his time than arguing with an antagonistic crowd).

He also hoped that the chief of police could get the NPA to collaborate with L regardless of how they felt about him.

And finally, L also counted on Soichiro to know what to do in terms of making sure Yamamoto didn't leave the country (blocking roads and checking identities at airports and so on).

Meanwhile L had only Wedy under his direct control. He asked her to look for clues in the businessman's abandoned apartment. L still had hopes that Yamamoto didn't know that his unofficial residence had been discovered or that he had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten something behind, something that could help L figure out where he had headed.

"Why are you so certain that there has been an information leak," Whammy interrupted L's train of thought. The older man had brought cupcakes for L but that somehow failed to cheer up L's bleak mood.

"Have you considered that this could have been a coincidence?" Whammy asked.

"There are no coincidences in my career," L said impatiently, not meeting Whammy's eyes. "And if this, in fact, has nothing to do with Yagami, then it means that my plan was flawed."

"That's not true. It's called a coincidence exactly because it is contingent," the older man said, still standing on the other side of the coffee table with the empty tray. "Your career, no matter how brilliant, has still been short in comparison to the years I have lived. And, trust me, in my career coincidents have happened."

L wanted to roll his eyes but he remained expressionless.

"Don't think that I believe in coincidents only because I am not as intelligent as you are and that I don't see all the angles of the situation, resulting in a 'superstitious' belief in things such as luck," Whammy added.

L finally gave the older man his full attention. It was rare for Whammy to say such a thing and it put the detective on his guard.

"An example of a coincidence, that you might have forgotten, but I never would, was the incident of our meeting," Whammy continued, a small smile gracing his old face. This sort of displays always made L very nervous as he never knew how to act or what to say.

"Why would you be willing to write off what happened as a contingency when it's almost 70% certain that Light betrayed us?"

"I think you are too quick to suspect him," Whammy said. "He was so tired after you were done with him that I bet he is still sleeping at home."

"We can run an investigation on that," L said. He was serious.

"You have other things to be thinking about right now! Whether Light had betrayed us or not is of little consequence. What you have to do now is find Yamamoto…" Whammy chided. "I am merely asking you to be fair before you judge and jump to conclusions. It seems to me that you tend to rush things when it comes to Light Yagami,"

The detective immediately caved in at that comment.

"I will not officially accuse Yagami Light of anything before I have evidence to support my claim," L said and turned away to his laptop, pretending to do something important and ignoring the other man.

…

That night, at 00:54 AM L heard of Light's hospitalisation.

L couldn't quite believe the news. Confusion and distress gnawed on him but the detective tried to analyse the information critically and objectively.

It was obvious that regardless of what role Light played, his person, the accident and Takuya's disappearance were connected. It was also pretty clear that there was some key piece of information linked to the young man could solve or ruin the case.

There were still no results in the NPA's or Wedy's search, so L felt desperate enough to seek to question the Yagami boy in person. And despite the obvious offsets of questioning a hospital patient, L was determined not to wait.

Whammy was full of objections, but he ended up driving L to the Fureai Yokomaha Hospital. They were both silent during the limousine ride.

L stared outside, his mind zoning as he watched the nighttime Tokyo. It had rained again, so streetlights, neon signs, headlights, and traffic lights all danced on the wet, reflective asphalt. L's mind was on Light. He knew that the young man had survived a car crash and that his life was not in danger, however a thick sense of dread had settled in the pit of the detective's stomach.

Whammy stopped at the hospital's parking lot. Looking out the window at the tall, multistory building made L's heart beat irregularly from nervousness.

The detective stepped out of the car into the humid cold night. He was wearing a dark trench coat and a beanie – courtesy of Whammy, who had insisted that L wore them in order not to draw attention on himself. The sound of a helicopter caught the detective's attention and he glanced up to see a medical helicopter landing on the roof of the building. There were no stars in cloudy sky, which reflected the light of the city back down, making the nights in Tokyo bright.

L could almost imagine the wind of the helicopter turbine hitting his face. He had always liked helicopters and he had learned to fly the simulators, but he had never gotten the chance to pilot a real one. A sense of wistfulness washed over him before he dismissed the stray thoughts and hurried to the reception.

The lobby was fool of tired, dozing people, none of which paid him any attention, much to the detective's relief. He showed a fake police badge to the receptionist and a nurse came down to take him to Light's rehabilitation room on the tenth floor.

"He jumped out of the car before it crashed and miraculously he got away with only a few scratches and bruises," the nurses chattered on as they walked. She was slightly taller than L and skinny, but her face was not very attractive and she seemed rather clumsy and awkward. "He only passed out for a little bit, but he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital. He might have strained his ankle and bruised his backside, but he has nothing broken," she chuckled nervously.

L didn't react in any way and didn't even look in her direction as she tried to converse with him. The detective absent-mindedly wondered if his disguise made him look normal enough for a female to try to talk to him.

"Ahhh, here we are," she said stopping in front of a door with a window, which had a curtain pulled over it. "He might be resting right now. I don't know if you should…"

L didn't wait for her to finish and pushed the door. His sense of urgency had only grown since they arrived at the hospital and he couldn't wait to see the brunette.

"Wait…" the nurse squeaked somewhere behind L.

Surely enough, Light was there, dozing on one of two hospital beds. A thin layer of plain white sheets lightly covered him and his skin looked a sickly white under the fluorescent light coming from above. L could see scratches and forming bruises all over him, in addition to the bandages covering his right arm and hand, as well as patches on several places on his left arm and shoulder. A bandage was fixed on the right side of his chin, but other than that, his face seemed intact. The younger man's hair was out of order and dirty but Light still managed to look criminally gorgeous even in this state.

"He should be resting…" the nurse said.

L walked over to the bed and looked down at Light's sleeping face.

No doubt this "accident" was Takuya's doing? So how come Light was alive? Surely it couldn't have been because Light was too good-looking to kill?

Even though L was immensely relieved that Light had lived, he couldn't help but think that it was very suspicious.

L leaned in close to Light's face, examining him.

"I think you should wait outside," the nurse said nervously.

Suddenly, Light's eyelashes fluttered against his exquisite cheekbones. L was close enough to see his pupils momentarily shrink in response to the light in the room before the brunette blinked a few times and turned his gaze to the detective. Light looked startled in the first instant but then he quickly focused. His eyes looked cold and desaturated in the unforgiving light but still managed to steal L's breath away.

"He seems to be awake now," L turned to the nurse for the first time since he had met her. "You can leave us now so I can begin questioning him."

"I… errm, ok," the nurse said and stumbled out of the room, knocking over a table, but catching it before it fell down. She excused herself and shut the door behind her.

L looked back to Light who was still looking at him with that helpless, lost expression that he had adopted while lying on his back. The detective felt the urge to protect him somehow.

"I am glad to see that you have survived, Yagami-kun," the detective said.

Light's expression hardened.

"It's Sato…" Light's voice sounded hoarse. "Sato Yuuta – the spy from the NPA you mentioned…"

"Aaahhh," L nodded repeatedly. "Do you mind?"

Light gave a curt node of his own as L pulled out his phone and called Soichiro to ask him to immediately apprehend Sato. Then he called Wedy and told her to track the man, just in case the NPA didn't manage to arrest him.

"He lured me to Naka Ward and tried to get information about you," Light managed.

L walked over to the nearby water tank and poured a glass of lukewarm water to give to the younger man. Light gratefully took the plastic cup.

"How did he know that you had information about me?" L asked.

"He somehow knew we had met a few times," Light said. He struggled to sit up without damaging his bandages and suddenly it occurred to the detective to help him. He quickly wrapped an arm around the brunette's bare back and pulled his slender frame up. Light inhaled a sharp breath and winced but sat up comfortably.

"What did you tell him," L asked masking his impatience as Light drank his water.

"I didn't tell him anything," Light said, his voice sounding much better.

"You can't expect me to believe that they let you get away without anything, do you?" L said.

"I didn't say anything!" Light argued, his cockiness clearly rehabilitating first, much to the detective's dismay.

"You must have told them something…"

"I did." Light said. An intense pause followed, where they stared at each other intently. "They spotted me with you, so I lied that you are L's associate and that I am only meeting with you out of personal interest, rather than working with or for L."

L cocked his head to the side.

"Personal interest?"

Light gave an exasperated sigh.

"I told them that we are dating," Light said with clear annoyance.

L's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I had to say something, as you said," Light explained. "They only let me go when I said that."

"But this is a rather obvious lie," L mused…

"Well Yuuta obviously bought it," Light said, before suddenly shutting up. A realisation dawned on him, as it did on L at the same moment.

"And you are the only victim to survive…" L thought out-loud and looked at Light.

Light's eyes widened as well.

"It couldn't be…" Light breathed out.

"We are probably not safe here," L said. "Can you walk?"

Light looked alarmed.

"I'm not sure," the brunette said as he sat up more easily on his own and tried to estimate how much of his strength he still had after all he had been through earlier. He had been trying not to move too much, but…

"The nurse said you don't have any serious injuries," L said and began unhooking Light from the various hospital equipment that restrained him. "You might not survive if you stay here, so you have to walk."

"I'll make it," Light said, not fully believing himself as he flung his wobbly legs over the edge of the bed. His ankle was tightly bandaged, and he suspected he had strained it.

That's when Light realised that he was naked underneath the hospital sheets, which were still covering his crouch.

"My clothes!" he looked at L.

The detective began searching the room for clothes and anything to use as such… Suddenly he noticed through the window of the door the outline of the tall nurse who was still lingering outside.

Light noticed where the detective was looking and opened his mouth to protest but didn't say anything.

L quietly approached the door. The nurse was so clumsy that surely if she went missing for a bit, her absence wouldn't be surprising. He opened the door behind her abruptly and before she could react, he pressed a point on her neck, sending her directly to doze-land.

"Why did you do that?" Light disapproved not too heatedly from behind him.

"I'm helping you protect your modesty as we waste time that could save our lives," L said in all seriousness. He quickly undressed the nurse from her light-pink robe and pants. Thankfully she was wearing some clothing of her own underneath those so the detective didn't feel too bad for what he had done. He threw the hospital uniform to Light while carefully positioning the sleeping woman on the other hospital bed.

Light quickly slipped into the borrowed attire, which fitted him well enough.

"I'm ready," Light called, and L turned to face him.

The brunette got off the bed and made a few shaky steps forward. Light dressed as a female nurse was a rather interesting sight and it made L bite his lower lip.

"What?" Light looked angry.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you need help walking," the detective said, regaining his concentration.

He didn't wait for the response and grabbed Light around the waste and the younger man didn't protest, instead wasting no time to fling an arm around the detective's shoulders.

Light let out a stifled groan as L pulled him out of the room and into corridor. Light kept making pained noises and leaning almost his entire weight on the frailer man but L managed to half carry him while still dialing Whammy on his phone.

"We might be in for a trap, we need an exit," L said with no introductions.

"Let me check," Whammy responded and a long pause followed in which the man was looking up the floor plans of the hospital. "Your best bet is the roof. This hospital has a helicopter landing site," Whammy told the detective.

"Is the helicopter there right now?" L asked as he hurried Light towards the elevator.

"Let me contact the hospital staff," Whammy said and hanged up.

L couldn't know if his suspicions about Takuya letting Light live in order to trap L at the hospital were true or not. However he didn't want to find out and the intuitive part of his brain felt very certain that his suspect was not the type to let such an opportunity pass. Takuya was one of the most ruthless businessmen in Tokyo – he was used to playing games.

The phone rang again and L picked it up.

"You were right about the trap, a van just pulled over and…" Whammy began. The sound of an explosion was heard both over the line and mutedly from outside. L's heart skipped a beat as a wave of suffocating fear gripped him.

"… and they just destroyed our car," Whammy's voice was heard again, making L almost sigh in relief. "There are seven, armed with guns. They are going in. You have to hurry - the helicopter is upstairs. I told the medical staff and the pilot to evacuate. You are on you own."

"Ok. Thank you," L huffed as he helped Light into the elevator. He pressed the button for the upmost floor.

"Good luck, L," Whammy said before he hang up.

L felt thrills run over him as they quickly ascended. Light leaned his back on the elevator wall and looked up at him.

"What is going on?" Light demanded under his breath.

"We're taking the helicopter," L responded.

"Oh."

L glanced at the elevator panel and then back at Light.

"Why are you looking at me this way!" Light asked, irritated again. He quickly straightened the nurse's uniform while glaring daggers at the detective.

L didn't respond.

Finally the elevator stopped on the final floor. When they exited both men glanced at the hospital map that was engraved on the wall. It appeared that they were in the wrong section of the building and they had to go to another sector in order to take the elevator, which went to the roof.

Thankfully, due to the late hour, the corridors were empty. Light somewhat limped, somewhat jumped on one foot as L dragged him as quickly as he could. The detective checked the hospital's map every here and there. They were close, when suddenly around the corner came a man.

He was armed.

Light and L came to an abrupt stop, sliding just a little bit on the polished floor.

"Fuck," Light hissed.

The assassin looked at them for a prolonged moment, his slow brain puzzled over the sight of a man dragging another man in a light pink gown.

The geniuses didn't take as long to figure out what to do and L pulled Light in the other direction. Suddenly L felt that Light was no longer being dragged - he was running on both feet, and doing so faster than L. Light didn't let go of the detective's arm, which had supported him and ended up pulling a staggering L along.

Soon they were hearing shooting from behind but they were already around a few corners, and were hoping to lose their pursuer or at least confuse him. They kept running, going further and further away from the elevator that was supposed to take them up to the helicopter.

Suddenly Light stopped and pulled L to a stop as well.

"I have a plan!" Light said.

L gave a strong tug.

"We don't have the time…" L began but Light grabbed him by both shoulders and pulled him close.

"Trust me!" Light said, looking deep into his eyes.

L felt his knees getting weak and before he knew it, he was following Light to the large window panel of the wall. It was dark outside, but suddenly L saw what had caught Light's eye – there was a railing and a ladder on the outside of the building. It was an emergency fire exits, which lead down towards an outside staircase a few levels bellow, and up towards the roof.

Light flung opened the window and took a quick look. The metallic rails were still damp from the rain earlier that night, which made them slippery. It was also dark and the wind was very strong outside.

Light glanced down and felt his head spin. He had an inane fear of heights. They were many floors above the ground and the streetlamp-illuminated car park bellow looked like a miniature. Suddenly Light's felt he couldn't do it.

With a groan Light pulled back in and closed his eyes tightly.

"What? GO!" L urged and pushed Light towards the opened window. The startled brunette gripped the frame with both arms and began shaking.

"Don't rush me," even Light's voice was shaking.

They heard the gunman's fast approaching footsteps somewhere close.

Light looked at the ladder again suddenly full of resolve to make the leap.

The worst part was flinging his arm and foot over the edge and clasping the cold, slippery metal. Light's fingertips were tingling from the adrenaline and his body felt weak and shaky, but as soon as he was fully suspended over a multistory fall, he felt a sudden wave of strength and resolve. He quickly began climbing up, and felt the ladder shake as L followed closely.

"Hurry!" L urged, tapping on his heels and Light went up as quickly as he could.

It was dark and windy outside and Light's hair was flying into his eyes making it even harder to see but he climbed blindly. They both knew that it was a matter of seconds before their pursuer discovered where they had went. Finally Light climbed on a metallic platform, which lead to some stairs that accented directly to the helicopter's landing spot.

The teen breathed a sigh of relief once his feet touched "solid" ground and he turned to offer L a hand as the detective climbed up from the ladder. L looked at the extended hand with wide eyes but didn't take it. He jumped over the last edge and suddenly a wave of strong wind hit his skinny frame, making him wobble back and struggle to keep his balance over the edge.

The detective flung his arms around, trying to regain balance, but he didn't manage to. For the millisecond, in which L was about to fall, he almost accepted this fate, feeling just a little bit scared but largely disappointed. But before he knew it, out of nowhere, a pink-clad hand came through the air to catch him.

Light had lunged forward and caught a grip of the detective's floating trench coat. Suddenly L was suspended on his heels over the edge and looking into Light's terrified eyes. With a powerful jerk, the younger man pulled him back and the detective fell into his arms.

Light quickly pulled them away form the edge. The detective's feet were trembling, and so were the brunette's hands. They looked at each other for a second, but the sound of a gun being fired from bellow ruined the moment.

The wind was very strong and they ran bent forward up the last flight of stairs, finally ending up on the highest point of the roof. It was a flat platform, which had no railing. Light felt his head begin to spin again and he was trembling even worse. Thankfully because of the dark, he couldn't quite tell how high they were, which helped a bit. He looked around.

"Where is the pilot?" Light shouted over the wind, suddenly noticing the absence of any crew.

"I'm piloting," L said.

"WHAT?" Light almost fainted. He had hoped he'd be safe once they made it up…

L didn't dignify that with an answer. The helicopter had been left ready for takeoff, as Whammy had instructed and the detective only had to pull the doors opened.

Light got in first, scared to death. He sat on the seat and told himself to relax. L slid the door shut after him and ran to the other side, getting into the pilot's seat. The little lights on the dashboard lit up when L started the engine.

"Are you sure about this," Light turned to L helplessly.

"Don't worry, I know what I am doing," L said. His expressionless face was lit up from the lights that lined the edge of the rooftop.

The black-haired detective was not as certain as he pretended to be. Adrenaline-induced dissociation aside, he had only ever piloted helicopter simulators and never the real thing, but L was a genius and he knew he could do it.

"L!" Light screamed and pointed outside.

Three men had appeared on the entrance to the roof. They raised their guns and began shooting. A bullet flew through Light's window and the brunette pushed himself into the seat as much as possible, covering his head with his arms.

L started the engine and lowered himself as much as possible, waiting for the few seconds needed for the helicopter to begin lift off. More bullets pierced the body of the helicopter, making glass and particles fly around them.

L hoped that the dark would ruin the gunmen's' aim and sat up pulling the controls for take off. Thankfully, the helicopter managed to lift up before L got shot. The detective turned the helicopter's back to the gunfire with wobbly movements. The entire helicopter was leaning dangerously from one side to the other and Light closed his eyes tightly, thinking that they would crash. But the sound of the helicopter turbine continued and when he looked again, they were picking up height and speed, leaving the gunfire behind.

"You did it," he chocked out disbelievingly through his constricted throat.

L glanced at him for an extended moment before returning his full attention to piloting.

They were going up quickly leaving danger behind them and cruising over the brightly lit streets of Tokyo. L gripped the controls hard, still uncertain of his ability to fly the thing, and wondering how and where would he be landing.

Light on the other hand managed to relax and tried to enjoy the exclusive ride. The view of nighttime Tokyo was amazing and he could recognise some places from above, which gave him immense pleasure. The world looked so different from above. It was the first time in Light's life that he was flying and he found out that he didn't dislike it as much as he had imagined.

Then he looked at L, who was effortlessly flying the helicopter and looking like a real pilot with the large headset over his jet-black hair and the dark navy trench coat. Light approved how it seemed to flatter the man's figure much better than the loose shirts he usually wore.

They headed towards the centre and as Light moved his gaze to the outside, suddenly he noticed something. There were shiny things flying in the sky towards them. He stared at them some more until he realised that they were helicopters.

"L, I think these two are approaching us," Light pointed out.

L did a double take at what Light was showing and then he tensed up.

"This doesn't look good," L murmured, holding the controls tightly with both hands.

"Contact Watari," he said. "Get my phone out! It's in my jeans…"

Light raised an eyebrow and then reached into L's jean pocket. A strong awareness that he was touching the detective's leg made the brunette feel oddly uncomfortable but he pretended not to care.

He dialed the first and only number on the call history.

"This is Light," he announced.

"I assume L can't talk now," the older voice responded over the line.

"Indeed," Light looked at the detective. "We are in the air right now and two helicopters are approaching us. Have you sent for any help or…"

"No, unless they are the NPA's, then they are not ours," Watari responded, a note of urgency in his voice. "Land as soon as possible! Tell L to land as soon as he can!"

"Alright. Let's remain on the line for now," Light said and keeping the phone to his right ear, he addressed L.

"They are not ours," Light said.

"That's what I was afraid of," L sighed.

Suddenly the man dipped the helicopter down, descending dangerously close to the city underneath them. The streets were pretty empty at that time of the night but brightly lit by all the lights of the buildings and the streetlamps, making maneuvering easier.

"They are after us," Light said as calmly as he could.

L didn't answer. Streetlights were illuminating his expression, which had become harder than the usual nonchalant mask and visibly concentrated.

The medical helicopter was not as fast or manoeuvrable as the smaller ones that were chasing them, but L was a genius after all and that always proved to be the best advantage. He could calculate in his head every maneuver quickly and precisely.

L descended down closer to the street level. He allowed the other two to close in on purpose. When they were close enough Light noticed the side doors open and men with shotguns perched out to take aim at them.

"They are going to shoot at us," Light informed L.

"I don't have a rear mirror," L stated matter-of-factly. "Unhook your belt and turn around to watch what they are doing and where they are."

Light hated the idea but did as he was told.

"Hold that handle tight," L instructed, before making a very sharp turn and flying over a smaller street.

One of the helicopters that followed them didn't manage to make the turn on time and kept flying forward, but the second one had enough reaction time to follow them.

"We lost one!" Light said. "The other one is behind us, about 500 meters, 30 degrees to the left."

L flew straight towards a tall office building in front of them.

"L…" Light warned.

It looked like the black-haired man was keen on running into the building and Light was about to start screaming before, in the last possible moment, the detective tipped the helicopter's nose up and headed up.

They were going up at the limit of the helicopter's manoeuvrability at full speed and Light had to prop a knee against the back of his seat to keep himself from falling. L kept accenting, coming closer and closer to the building until he barely managed to avoid the top and fly over it. The smaller helicopter following them didn't manage to make the final few floors and crashing against the office building.

Light turned around on his seat to look behind as much as he could and saw the smoke from the explosion, glad that the building was most likely empty at that hour.

"I think they crashed!" he shouted in elation. "Now if we can only find a landing spot… Oh no! The other one is here!"

Badly aimed gunshots flew through the night, some of which pierced their helicopter again. This time the bullets made bigger holes, being fired from a shotgun. One broke the pilot's side window and flew directly by L's head. The detective felt the air move against his face as the bullet flew pass and glass scattered.

Light tried to lower himself but L remained where he was, stoically holding the controls and piloting the helicopter.

"The NPA has sent help," Watari's voice came from the speaker of the phone, which Light still clutched to his ear. It startled the young man, who was cringing and praying that he wouldn't be killed.

"Excellent! When can we expect them?" he shouted over the noise.

"I don't think they will reach you for another 10 minutes," Watari said.

"That's a bit too long," Light screamed. "We might not survive that long!"

"I am sorry, it's all that we could do," Watari said.

Light looked up at L who was still calmly guiding the helicopter through the air.

"Hold on," L said. The detective sent their helicopter dipping down as extremely as he could without losing control of the vehicle. The ground was rushing towards them, making their stomachs turn. Light fought the inertia to sit up to his seat and buckle up.

With his eyes closed he could only feel as the helicopter shook heavily.

L let out a breathless gasp next to him and Light guessed that they had narrowly missed the ground. Then they were leaning to one side sharply and Light opened his eyes when they were flying right by a traffic lamp and continued to maneuver very close to the ground. Gunshots began flying by them again.

Light turned to look behind.

"They are right behind us," Light said out of breath. Turning forward he saw L fly around some large trees, cutting off the highest branches with the helicopter's turbine.

Light closed his eyes again as the detective used the trees as a shield to make a scary turn and fly in another direction, while avoiding the gunfire from the other helicopter.

When Light opened his eyes he saw leafs and small branches in his lap, which had fallen in through the broken window. L headed up again, this time going into a much smaller street. It was barely wide enough to fit the helicopter's turbine span and it was darker and dangerous to go through. Seeing the narrow passage Light felt his blood turn cold.

Light helplessly stared at the young man beside him. L's black eyes were narrowed with concentration and he was biting his lips, trying to see better and estimate better. L's skinny hands were gripping the controls so tightly that even in the dark Light could see his and veins bulging out.

They went in and it looked that if L were to fly any higher or lower, the turbine would hit a balcony or something. Light thought that their pursuers had to be insane to follow them, but looking back he saw they were still on their tail.

"Oh no…" L breathed beside him.

Light looked back to the front window and saw a few cords of drying clothing hanging between the two buildings. Cold shivers shook the younger man and he stared at L. The detective seemed to have acknowledged the problem but kept flying straight towards the obstacle.

Light glanced between the cords and L. The man had a look of resolve on his face but Light didn't know what he was hoping for – they couldn't pass through, he couldn't even see properly!

L stared at the quickly approaching cords. He was aiming to obscure the view of the cords with their helicopter as long as possible and fly up at the last moment, avoiding the cables and hoping that the other pilot wouldn't pull off the stunt.

Calculating the last moment and pulling the controllers up, L felt the helicopter dash up but it couldn't make it up in time to avoid the highest cables completely. Anticipating the worst, L turned away from the scene ahead, and looked at Light instead.

The brunette was leaning back his head and had his eyes closed in resignation. Lights were quickly passing over his face and his expression looked troubled and so enticing that just for a moment L forgot about everything and felt his nerves relax.

That moment seemed to stretch for an eternity as they narrowly flew over, only catching the two highest of the wires with the helicopter's tires. The entire vehicle shook, making Light open his eyes and clutch his seatbelt. L held the controls tight and stabilised the helicopter as they tore the cables and passed through.

In the fateful seconds after, they both listened with their breaths held. Finally the boom and fires of a nearby explosion announced that the cables had wrapped around the other helicopter's turbine it had crashed.

Light quickly unhooked the seatbelt and turned around to see it.

"We did it," he said, still disbelieving as he watched the flaming enemy helicopter falling down to the empty street. "We did it!"

"Don't cheer yet," L said through gritted teeth.

Flying into the wider opened space of a larger street, L directed the helicopter up. The vehicle had sustained a lot of damage, from the gunshots and from the collision with the cables. Light's heart raced as they went higher and higher with the damaged helicopter.

"Tell Watari that we will be landing on Hills Mori Tower," L said.

His black hair was flying around his face now that all the windows had been broken. Light stared in fascination at the sharp contrast it presented against the pale skin. Even though they were high over the city and it was dark inside the helicopter, L's skin seemed to be gleaming in the pale light from outside. His midnight eyes were sharply outlined by the darkness of his lashes and the smudges underneath his eyes. He looked oddly attractive and Light stared at him with reluctant curiosity. 

They landed softly, despite L's secret insecurity about his landing technique. A team of people quickly appeared to meet them on the platform. Light wondered where to look but at the man next to him.

Two police officers helped the younger man get off. Light suddenly realised that his body was miserably aching and that he could barely walk. The adrenaline rush from before had made him run on his strained ankle and he felt it pulsating with pain when he stepped on it again. His arms and shoulders also really hurt as he had used them regardless of their condition, as did his backside, which he had bruised during the fall. But Light was soon helped into the building and when they entered a brightly lit corridor L quickly walked away on his own. Because of the way the officers paid him no mind, Light realised that all the men were under the impression that L was just a helicopter pilot, while they were there to escort Light.

The two were soon separated and Light was taken to the NPA building, where his father waited for him. It was 4:54 am when he arrived.

"Light!" Soichiro called upon seeing him.

Light felt immensely relieved to see his father. Soichiro looked tired, worried and full of questions, but he didn't ask Light anything. He hugged his son in a tight embrace for a moment making Light hiss in pain.

"I will have to ask you about what happened later, but now you must go rest and recuperate," his father said.

After all Light had been through, his father was the first real sign of normalcy. But as soon as the relief came, it was gone, and a realisation that Light didn't want to go back to his previous life hit him.

"I am really sorry that I can't stay with you," Soichiro added and he genuinely looked regretful. "We are currently on to Yamamoto Takuya - L's primary suspect. We suspect that your accident and the chase you just endured were all Yamamoto's doing. I'm sending you to another hospital, this time you will be guarded."

"Dad, please keep me updated," Light asked before he was helped into an ambulance.

His father promised he would call and hurried back to his work place.

Another nurse took care of Light in the new hospital and offered him sleeping pills, to relax. Light refused and tried to remain awake to wait for his father's phone calls, but ended up falling asleep from exhaustion after half an hour.

Meanwhile L was back with Whammy and they were traveling in another shiny car to the Takuya's newly discovered hideout. Wedy had traced Yuuta, who had tried to flee the police to Takuya's hideout.

With the help of Soichiro, L had the entire police mobilised and occupying the area around an abandoned warehouse close to the Tokyo pier. L sat behind blackened windows and ate a vanilla cupcake, which tasted better than ever. Whammy handed him some tea and L dipped a cookie inside it.

"L, we are ready," Soichiro called over the transmitter in the detective's ear.

"Ok, wait for my command," L responded and couldn't suppress a smug smile.

'Finally," the detective thought.


	10. New Beginings

A day after the capture of Yamamoto, Light was sitting behind a two-way mirror with his father, Matsuda and a few other police officers, who had been involved in L's investigation.

Watari was in the room, standing silently beside the 17-inch Macbook pro, which L used to communicate. It seemed to Light, that the detective was just showing off how he could afford it. Then again, L seemed to genuinely like expensive things. It was fairly obvious by his choice of hotels, restaurants, cars and so on…

But all those thoughts were irrelevant. The reason why they had all gathered (some in person, others virtually) was for the interrogation of Yamamoto Takuya, the largest stockholder of the prosperous Yamamoto corporation over 28 murders of businessmen.

All of L's evidence pointed to him. Light knew because he had went over them on that night, which he had spent working with L. The night directly before that faithful day that had sent Light into the most dangerous situations he had ever been through.

Yes, Light was still recovering from the shock of being threatened with a gun and shoved into a car with no breaks and narrowly escaping death in a staged accident. In fact he still had bandages on his forearms and a shin on his strained ankle, the one that only got more injured during the insane hospital escape with L.

L, who then piloted a freaking helicopter to save their asses, while being chased by Takuya's people, also on helicopters. Light had caught a bit of a cold from the cold night-time air, which had effortlessly passed through the windows that had ended up wrecked by gunfire…

But all in all, Light was fine.

And he was out of the hospital, despite the nurse's insistence that he should rest. There was no way Light was going to miss the interrogation of the man who had almost killed him, albeit indirectly!

"Before we begin, I would like to announce that during the process of the interrogation of this suspect, I would like to conduct an experiment, which might further prove the man's guilt," L's scrambled voice announced from the laptop, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Soichiro rested his weight on one strong arm, his face contorted with worry and exasperation.

The whole team of policemen looked weary. That's the effect, which L's little "surprises" had produced in them – they dreaded EVERYTHING the detective said.

It was difficult to explain how unsettled they were when L had asked their chief to chase down a suspect, whom they hadn't even been aware of. They had chased a "mafia organisation" for almost a month when suddenly, out of the blue, they had to arrest Takuya Yamamoto.

"We already have solid evidence that Yamamoto is the culprit," L said. "Yuuta Sato, who you know as your ex-colleague from the NPA, tried to eliminate Yagami Light. The reason he did that, was because Yagami Light's suggestions lead the police closer to discovering the true culprit for the murders."

L paused.

"After Yagami Light survived the attack, he signalled to us to capture Sato, who in term pointed to Yamamoto as his employer."

The policeman exchanged quick glances. Some looked at Light and nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"However, based on one testimonial, and all the evidence we found in Yamamoto's hideout, we can't conclusively conclude that Yamamoto is guilty," L continued, but he was cut off.

"But that's the court's job, isn't it!" Matsuda chimed in, with the enthusiasm of a student, who knew the answer.

L remained silent for a few seconds, in which Light could just imagine the man's face and wanted to chuckle. But he sided with L on that one – Matsuda could be quite annoying.

"I don't send suspects to the courtroom. I send criminals to justice," L said, his voice so scrambled that it was hard to know what his tone might have been.

'What an arrogant bastard', Light thought. But he couldn't help but give L credit, because the man had indeed never been wrong when capturing a criminal. None of his suspects were ever found innocent.

"Now, as I was saying before, we need to extract a confession today," L continued over the speaker.

Soichiro nodded and so did the rest. Light remained calm but a part of him was swelling with anticipation. He wondered if L was going to use his list of interrogation questions, which he had prepared just three nights ago. He had never had the chance to get an answer from L about them, so this was going to be his assessment…

"This is where my experiment comes into place," L said. "I would like Yagami Light to interrogate Yamamoto Takuya."

Light's eyes widened, but he managed to erase the surprise from his face. He bowed deeply to the laptop.

"It would be an honour," Light said, accepting.

The whole room was in shock, but no one dared to ask anything.

Light didn't know what L had thought about his questions, but this sounded like an invitation to show his abilities in real life. Thankfully, Light had spent an entire night looking over evidence, and constructing questions, which were going to nail Takuya. And he remembered them by heart, as he delivered them in the exact same words and order as he had written them. Just to show off his memory to L, of course.

And at the end of the nine-hour session, which it had turned out to be, Light felt dirty from sweating in a room all day, quickly eating unhealthy NPA sandwiches, stressing and breathing the dull air-conditioned air.

But he also felt exhilarated, successful and triumphant, because he had, singlehandedly, extracted the "I did it" from Takuya Yamamoto. And even L had congratulated him in the end.

Light was beaming with tired happiness, saying his goodbyes to the members of the police force, whom he had worked alongside on that case.

Most of them were allowed to go home for the night, and were glad the case was closed. Many congratulated him with manly pats on the shoulders and deep bows.

Light felt acknowledged and was smiling in genuine happiness when he grabbed his jacket from the hanger and turned around to see his father doing the same. The two men looked at each other for a moment before they embraced each other, in a father and son gesture, which Light had missed for a long time.

"Would you like to ride with me?" Soichiro offered and his son gladly accepted.

On the ride home they were mostly silent, but it was the good type of silence. It was 22:52 and they were both really tired, but gratified. Light knew that his father's respect for him had been doubled due to this case. For god's sakes - even the world's greatest detective had praised Light today!

When they arrived Saichico was waiting for them and embraced each one of them tightly. She noticed Light's bandages and instantly became very worried, until her husband reassured her, that Light was all right.

Both men graciously avoided the topic of how Light almost died two times during the last three days, and his hospital stays, knowing that his mother would go nuts.

Light ran upstairs to his room. It smelled dull from not having a window opened for more than two days. He opened a window to let the fresh air from outside enter and freshen up his room for his good night's sleep.

Discarding the clothes, which he had put on two nights ago (when he had left to meet Sato, the traitor, and ended up in that mess, which ultimately had solved the case,) Light jumped in the shower.

He was quick but he scrubbed his hair, and body a few times. The brunette didn't remember the last time he had been so filthy in his life! Days spent outside, in the hospital and at the police station had made him… ewwww disgusting!

Sayu, Light's younger sister, was already in bed. She had an exam in the morning, so it was just Light, Saichiko and Soichiro at the family table.

Light enjoyed the homemade food more than he ever had before. After what he'd been through, it seemed like such a blessing to have the simple comforts of home.

However, the peace did not last long, and even though Light didn't know it in that moment, "peace" in the sense that he had always known it, was already gone.

Unknowingly, Light had already stepped his foot on another path, one that would take him away from home, from everything he had ever known as a child and a teenager, and into a completely different world altogether.

So when he saw an unknown caller, Light didn't have an idea that this call was going to change everything and simply picked up, not even bothering to finish savouring his last meal at the Yagami household, as his home.

"Hi, Light-kun," it was L's voice, unscrambled.

"Hi," Light said, suddenly uncertain how exactly to react.

"I would like to know if you are still interested in working for me," L asked.

"Yes, of course I am," Light said.

"I am glad you haven't changed your mind," L said. "I still need to see how well you perform. However, I am leaving the country very soon. If you want to continue, you will have to come with me."

Light's eyes widened. Traveling to another country, with L! That sounded too exciting to be true. The young man really wanted to do it. He glanced at his parents.

He knew they would approve, especially his father, who was going to be proud of him, knowing L and the detective's international importance.

But then again, Light had to stop attending college. That might not fly too well with his old folks… But even if they didn't approve, Light was 19 years old – he didn't need their permission.

"Alright, I am in. When do you leave?" Light asked.

"In an hour and a half," L said.

Light almost choked on the tea he was sipping.

"What? How do I…" Light began.

"Watari has parked in front of your house. Please collect only your bare essentials, since I will pay for any other items you might need when we arrive at our destination. We need to leave in a hurry," L said.

Light's world was spinning. He almost forgot about how cocky it seemed that L had sent his man to pick him up even before he had received an answer from Light, because had to be the last thing on his mind…

He didn't really remember the next part where he agreed to those conditions, politely excused himself from the table and ran up the stairs to grab the largest sack he possessed and fill it up with a few pairs of underwear, the best pieces of clothing he had, and his essentials. He didn't bother taking any personal items, since he neither possessed anything that he really cared about, nor did things like that matter to him.

Saichiko had followed him upstairs. She asked what he was doing, so finally Light had to go downstairs, with his already made suitcase and announce to his parents that he was leaving.

All he had to do to convince his father was mention Watari. Soichiro understood and silenced his wife. Surprisingly to Light, his father didn't look happy that his son got offered a job with The World's Greatest Detective.

In stead, he gave Light a rather melancholic smile and a real, tight embrace before nodding in agreement and letting him go.

Light ran out of his house, remembering in the last second that he hadn't even said goodbye to his sleeping sister, but he pushed the regret aside.

The air outside was crispy and fresh, and there was a faint smell of sakura blossoms carried by the wind. It was May 16, mid Spring, and the most beautiful time of the year in Tokyo.

A shiny black limo was pulled by on the road in front of his house. The neighbourhood was quiet at this time of the night. No cars passing, no people – just a quiet, starry night, the sweet-smelling breeze and a promise of a world of opportunity and challenges.

Watari appeared next to the backseat door, dressed in a long khaki trench coat, with a high collar turned up, and a hat, that obscured his face almost completely. However, upon seeing Light approach, he flashed a friendly, grandfatherly smile at the teenager, whose eyes were shinnying with barely covered excitement.

Watari opened the trunk, and the light form inside illuminated his pale English completion, as well as his bright blue, foreign eyes. Light snapped out of his trance of watching the elder man put his single, lonely suitcase in the huge trunk, and looked back at his house.

The upper floor, where his room and Sayu's rooms were, was now completely dark, the only lights coming from the living room and kitchen windows on the first floor. The door was opened, and light was shinnying through it, and at the doorsteps were his parents. Soichiro had his arm wrapped around his wife's waist as the two of them waved their farewell to their son.

Even from a distance he could see their expressions and it did strike a place in Light's heart. He waved back at them and almost felt melancholic as well. Then he pushed those feelings away. He wasn't weak, so he wasn't going to allow himself to feel sad or miss them. In stead he flashed them a loving smile, waved and got in through the door, which Watari was holding opened for him.

Soon the limo drove away and the familiar streets were flying by, as Light looked out the window, giving way to less familiar ones. They passed through residential areas, parks with blossoming cherry trees, lakes, lights pointed strategically to illuminate the beauty of nature and architecture.

They passed a few temples, and finally arrived to an area of north Tokyo, which Light rarely visited. He was surprised when he found out that L had been staying at a very low profile hotel, because it turned out that they were picking him up!

Somehow the idea of sharing a car and driving to the airport with L, the world's greatest detective, made Light feel much different then what he had felt like before. Perhaps, it was because up until a few days ago, L had just been Ryuuzaki – an awkward and somewhat weird boy, whom Light had been underestimating.

However, after having been saved by said black-haired mess, after being flown in a helicopter by said awkward guy, Light's opinion had chanced quite a lot. Now he understood exactly whom he was dealing with, and he felt a bit out of place riding the same car as L.

But as soon as L appeared, with an enormous multi-coloured lollipop in his mouth and ratty sneakers, which he kicked off as soon as he got in the back of the limo to join Light, the younger man's mystification with the detective quickly disintegrated.

It was still the same Ryuuzaki, and top detective, action-man, ninja or whatever else he was, Light couldn't take him too seriously with that lollipop in his mouth.

L looked over at him with huge, eyes, which looked completely dark in the midnight scene. He looked almost adorable with that lollipop in front of his pale face. Adorable, or creepy, Light couldn't decide. He was a grown man after all!

L had something frail and childish about him, but at the same time, that same thin pale face, opaque black eyes and bony constitution could also be perceived as wiry, exhausted and heartless.

Was he L, was he Ryuuzaki, or was he something strange in general – it all depended on how you looked at him.

He was a contradiction, a distraction, a challenge. Something that Light would need to figure out if he didn't want to just become a pawn of this man, because he knew that L was capable of doing this to him, if he wasn't careful.

And Light hadn't forgotten his earlier ambitions of out besting L one day. This was just a step in the ladder – first getting to work for him, learning his tricks and quirks, and then finally becoming even better.

But there was also that something else about L. There was something about him that was drawing Light in, now even more so then before. Knowing how resourceful and possibly dangerous this albeit weird man could be, Light couldn't help but want to delve deeper. The younger man knew that his competitive streak and desire for dominance was going to lead him down a dangerous path if he allowed it, wanting to know the man and all… He had resolved not to think of L in that way…

So he looked away.

L didn't look at him much either. The ride to the airport was not long at all. Light wasn't that surprised when they skipped all sorts of airport control and just mounted a private jet, which… looked just like a passenger plane of British Airways.

"Did you rent an entire passenger plane?" Light asked in disbelief.

"No," L said. "I own it. It's a good way to disguise my movements."

Light let out an appreciative noise. Of course – if anyone was looking for L, they would be checking private jets, not the "regular" airlines.

L must have had a lot of money to convince British Airways to do this for him though, Light thought… Or they just owed him a lot of favours.

Inside the plane looked like any other passenger plane, but it was empty, except for the inflammable "passengers", which inflamed on the press of a button in the pilot's cabin.

The pilot greeted L, with the name "Lumiere".

Light raised an eyebrow.

"I chose this nickname before I met you, Light-kun," L clarified.

"Yeah, right," Light teased and laughed at his own humour.

L turned away, so Light didn't get to see his reaction.

"This pilot has been working for me for years," L mumbled.

Light realised that the detective was still defending his point about the nickname. It was kind of interesting that L got so defensive all of a sudden. Light attributed it to L's lack of almost any social experience. Perhaps the detective was just trying to make small talk, but getting the timing all wrong.

As the plane took off, both young men were seated on two opposing sides of the business class, each taking the seat by the window, on the same roll. Light had never flown an airplane before, but it didn't really phase him when the pressure built up in his chest and gut when the plane gathered the velocity to touch off the ground.

He was completely calm as he stared down at the twinkling lights of nigh time Tokyo and once again the image of his parents at the doorway, the cherry blossoms and the river flashed through his mind, before he looked towards the future.

They were above the clouds now, and soon flying over the great, undisturbed darkness of the Pacific Ocean. They were going to have a refuel stop in New York, before flying to Luton, the north-most airport of London.

Light didn't know that yet, but what he did know, was that this was the end of an era. It was the end of his childhood, as he now had effectively moved out from his parent's house and was off to his future and career. Everything was about to change now. And it excited him, as much as it filled him with uncertainty and an anxious fear. But he was Light Yagami – he knew he was going to do brilliantly. So as long sleepless hours of flying towards the rising sun passed, Light thought about his life – his future, his past, important and trivial things. For some reason it was so easy to just think when high in the sky, above the world, above it's pity problems and to see the big picture.

Light sighed softly as he finally seamlessly drifted off to sleep.

L looked over his shoulder. He had been staring outside the entire time, not daring a glance at his new companion. To L, this was also an end of an era, and the beginning of a new, uncertain one – the type of experience he had never imagined, nor hoped for. He was going to share his secrets, his time and his life with another person!

Of course it had taken a lot of convincing and a whole lot of logic to get Whammy to agree to this really rushed and hazardous decision. Whammy had only agreed under the condition that Light begins to train immediately. That's why the interrogation had been necessary – to prove to the elder man, that Yagami really had potential.

Of course, Whammy trusted L's word, but now L had to come up with ways to show mentorship over the younger man, in order to keep his own mentor's mind at peace. Whammy did want a successor after all. So, L had to show him that he was working on it. That was the whole point in the elder man's mind.

But L saw Light as more of a potential partner then a successor. But if need be, the partner would succeed him, right? So in the end everyone was going to be happy. Light got a chance to prove himself and an exciting job to satisfy his hunger for thrill and recognition. Whammy got his backup plan. L got…

Well, he got a partner. A trainee. But that wasn't all, was it.

L hated to admit it to himself, but he also felt that he was getting companionship by someone, whose presence L actually desired. L wanted even more than that. He wanted to get to know Light a bit better. It was a frivolous wish, but he wanted Light be his friend.

And there was more than that too, but L wasn't going to think about it, or admit it to himself just yet. It was too difficult to deal with.

But he had to be careful – he couldn't let his enthusiasm show. The last thing he wanted was to scare Yagami. L had scared a fair amount of people when he had showed any sort of interest in them, and it even hadn't been the sort of interest he had for Light.

So the detective was going to be very careful. He didn't want to mess up and end up with Light despising him.

Why was it always so difficult to deal with people!

And why couldn't it get any easier, now that he actually wanted to do it. It was only getting worse. So, he kept his eyes away from Light, even though he was asleep, no matter how much he wanted to observe him, now that he wouldn't be aware of it, and therefore hate it.

L reassured himself that the chances of getting another opportunity were very high if he didn't ruin them at this very initial stage, so he disciplined himself. Strangely even his appetite was severely lowered now that Light was here. He almost didn't eat through the flight, keeping quiet and not disturbing Light's sleep.

It was 10 AM when they landed in Luton. Whammy walked down the platform stairs, followed by L and Light right behind him.

Light squinted. Outside felt bright, even though it was an overcast day. The sky was grey as far as the eye could see, and there were seemingly endless flatlands around. The air smelled polluted, as airport air usually does. There were many British Airways planes, which lead Light to the conclusion that they had to be in Great Britain.

Soon enough he caught random English signs that said "Airport", "London" ,"Luton" and he at least knew where he was.

Their baggage was handles by the pilot, a cheerful lad in his mid thirties, who had the type of smile that made you want to know him better. But Light hadn't even caught his name. He had just got the "Lumiere" part.

To Light's surprise, there were many boxes and baggages, which they hadn't brought in the limo. It had to be L's equipment, or at least some of it.

With an airport car of their own, their baggage was transported to a pickup spot, where L pointed to grey mini cooper cabrio.

"We'll travel together with a few of our suitcase," he said. His skin looked as pallid as a sheet of paper in the flat English daylight.

A glance at the muted sunlight was enough to give Light the explanation why, even though there was also the fact that this man seemed to spend a lot of time indoors.

Light was beginning to wonder if he was actually English. He looked a bit mixed.

"Can you drive," L asked.

"I don't have a license, but my father taught me how to drive," Light said.

"Ok, get in the car. You will drive," L said, handing him the keys as if on an afterthought.

Light didn't object. Taking the keys he glanced at the piles of baggage that were not being loaded into the mini cooper.

"Watari will take care of the rest," L said, getting in the seat beside him.

And so, Light discovered that he had never driven a manual car before… and that he could learn how to do it in a matter of minutes.


	11. England

The light grey mini cooper was steadily going north on M1. The motorway had 4 lanes on each side and a continued flow of cars. Light felt confident guiding the small English car at the maximum speed allowed, even though it was his first time driving a manual car.

L was crunching hard candy, the noise making Light's mouth hurt as he imagined the hard sugary bits grinding into the detective's teeth. The detective had a large pack of assorted candy. He had been stuffing his face through the hour and a half journey they had travelled so far.

The duo did not converse and the sickening sound of L eating had made Light turn on the radio to disguise the silence. He had set it on the news channel, where the latest stories were being read by a voice, which posses a deep English accent. Light, who could read and write in English perfectly, had trouble with the way this accent raised and fell in pitch making it almost incomprehensive to his unacquainted ears.

"On the next junction, exit the motorway," L broke the silence and then resumed chewing on his candy.

"Should we begin speaking in English, given that we are now in England?" Light asked as he began regrouping for the exit.

"We will be speaking English soon enough, but if you wish, we can start now," L said.

"I don't see why not – this is England and besides, Japanese is not your native language, is it?" Light said.

L's eyes turned to scrutinise him, but no answer came.

Light waited but L remained silent and kept watching him for a few more minutes before going back to his candy.

The younger man felt anger rising in his system. Why was L withholding this information from him? What was the point with the constant secrecy? It was not as if it mattered!

Light secretly gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on the stirring wheel. Was the detective really that paranoid, he wondered? It was true that nobody knew anything about L, but given the fact that the detective had taken him along for training, then wasn't he supposed to open up to Light even just a little bit?

The indignant silence continued as Light took the turn and exited the motorway to travel down a B road to an unknown destination, which the detective had refused to give him, when he had asked.

What was the point of not telling him where they were going, when Light was in fact the driver – he was going to see anyway! Perhaps L was doing this just to show the younger man, that he could do this sort of things if he wanted to. Was the detective trying to establish the power situation from the very beginning? If that was the case, Light wasn't going to allow the status quo to last for too long. He was going to find a way to take the upper hand…

While Light was obsessing over the topic of what L's secrecy was all about, the detective was deep in thought and calculation as well.

Of course, L had very good reasons to be doing what he was doing. He had made Light drive to see how quickly he could pick stuff up, and also because he didn't want to do it himself. He was too lazy to drive, especially when he could indulge in snacks and stare out the window instead.

But that was a minor part of the reason. A bigger part was that L wanted to confuse Light by taking him on the most roundabout way he could possibly conjure, in order to get to Whammy's house.

Confusing Light how to get there was primarily in order to buy time. Light was a foreigner in a new country, where he didn't know anyone, or anything. So, any knowledge that he wasn't served on a plate (such as the direct way to Whammy's) was going to take time to research. So, in case things went horribly wrong, L had a clear advantage over Light.

But the biggest reason to take a separate car with Light, whom L didn't completely trust, was to give Whammy time to go back and make a few necessary arrangements before they arrived.

Roger had been given such a short notice of Light's arrival that the institution was not ready to receive the new guy yet. So Whammy had hurried on the 3,5 hr. road to Whammy's while L intended to make Light drive around the English countryside for about 7 hours.

L had a few lies in mind about Whammy's house. Light was to be told that Whammy's house was an orphanage that sponsored and tutored extremely gifted children, giving every child the opportunity to pursue a career in which they would exceed. That was partially true, since many of the young geniuses that resided at the house turned out to lack the necessary talents to become the next L. In those cases, they were encouraged to find another career that they would be interested and then were privately tutored by world-class mentors. L paid for all of this, even though it was never going to benefit him. These children were going to go freely into the world to become the best mathematicians, inventors, scientist, painters, pianists and so on.

Of course there was also the small, but very elite group of students who were actually training to compete for the title of L. Those had a separate schedule and attended special classes. However, nobody, not even their various tutors, knew about what they really were there to become. The only people who knew about the real purpose of Whammy's house were Whammy, Roger, L and all the orphans, of course.

So, Light was to be lied to, in the same was as they lied to the various teaching staff they employed. He was going to see all the learning, but he was going to be kept in the dark about L's successors. The orphanage was going to be presented as a charity project, which L sponsored.

That sounded quite plausible, L mused. An orphaned genius who financed the studies of other orphaned geniuses… Plausible and pretty much true.

Of course, L wasn't going to tell Light about his own parentless past, but the brunette was bright enough and was probably going to make the connection on his own anyway.

What Light most definitely didn't need to know was that he was now going to be a part of the program as well. If he knew that he would be eligible as L's successor, Light was old enough, and possibly cunning enough to try to cut L's career short, in order to take over sooner.

Ahem… you know what that means. And, yes, that's exactly what crossed L's mind at the words "tell Light the truth".

Whammy had also agreed with that, so L wasn't alone on Paranoia Island.

Of course, there was another reason as well. L didn't really want Light to think of himself as just a would-be successor. L wanted a partner, and he didn't to be cut off immediately by the wall, which quickly arose between him and each one of his possible successors.

Not to mention the fear of Light going bonkers, hanging himself or becoming a psychotic murderer and running off to commit a perfect crime, in hopes of destroying L, as had happened with two of L's past successors.

It was not a laughing matter at all, and L pushed the bitter memories aside before it was too late. It was difficult though – England reminded him of his past failures. Thankfully, after A and B, the program had been readjusted to what it was now, and children who didn't have the mental constitution or couldn't become L were not pressured into it.

"Are you alright?" Light asked.

L snapped out of it.

"Yes," he said, wide eyes facing Light in a look of clueless innocence.

Light nodded, and kept driving.

L turned away, facing the window in stead. He knew what had disturbed Light. People had told him that he looked freakish when he lost himself in deep thought and completely blanked out.

Anyway, L didn't want to alienate Light the way his successors had become alienated from him. Not that L had been close to any of the children before they were chosen as candidates for his title. He had never been close to anyone at Whammy's house, even as a young boy, when he had been one of the first, and before Whammy had realised his full potential and turned his exclusive attention on him.

The taste in L's mouth was getting sour again, so he pushed the thoughts about his past, his failures and his complete lack of relationships away. He looked for something else to distract him… Candy!

…

The ride continued in silence, with just the radio playing an occasional song between the newscasts.

At some point they exited the main road and began traveling down a scenic country road. The area was much different - it had a single lane, which winded around green hills and valleys. They passed by small farms and after about an hour on that road they entered a lovely small English town.

They had been traveling all afternoon and the clock was nearing 4:30 pm. Light's stomach was growling.

The brunette eyed the small shops and pubs on the main street. There were blackboards on almost every restaurant that said, "Fish 'n' chips", "Real English Ale" and "Steamy Roasted Potato". Light's mouth was beginning to water.

"Do you think we could stop and grab an early dinner?" Light asked. "I kind of fancy trying the local food."

"I don't think we have time, Light-kun," L responded in English, switching to the native as Light had requested earlier.

Light quirked an eyebrow.

"Why," he asked, also in English.

"There will be dinner when we reach our destination," L said.

Light resisted to ask where exactly they were going, knowing that L wouldn't give him a straight answer.

"How far is it?" the brunette asked instead, and his stomach grumbled in unison. They had missed lunch and while L had brought an entire bag of candy and snacked along the way, Light had starved.

"We have about an hour an a half. We are not far, but the road is pretty old and you can't drive too fast."

Light suppressed a sigh. An hour and a half wasn't that bad… He could survive without food for another hour and a half.

As they were exiting the town, L pointed to a small black road that separated from the asphalt and disappeared between the emerald green heels. The sky above was grey with rainclouds but the grass in England somehow still looked incredibly bright and green, giving colour to the land.

They drove in silence for a while, still listening to the news radio channel, which had switched to "the music hour" and played anything from "Purple Rain" to "All the single ladies".

Light chuckled a bit as L hummed along to Beyonce's hit, all the while keeping his face as blank as always. To top it all, L raised his hand and imitated the "put a ring on it" gesture, which got Light to laugh out loud. He had never thought the detective had humour in him.

…

They continued down the road until the radio signal became bad, and the hills grew taller and covered in trees. Eventually the radio became lost all together. They were passing through a woodland meadow and without the music and news announcements; their ears became filled with the sounds of the forest and the car passing over the dirt road.

In some places the road was so bad, that Light had to switch to first gear and carefully avoid the gaps in the road, so that he didn't damage the small car, or even worse – get stuck somewhere.

Somehow, beneath the cover of the treetops, it got pretty dark and at some point Light found himself turning on the headlights, even though it was 5:30 pm.

Light's stomach continued to grumble and he was losing patience. The humour he had shared with L earlier was long gone and the young man was getting quite cranky. However there was no point to ask L about their destination again, and knowing that he wouldn't get a straight answer, even though he felt he deserved it, annoyed Light even further.

Either way, where the hell could they be going through such road? Light didn't get it.

L on the other hand was starting to get worried. It wasn't late and they weren't that far away from Whammy's house, but with the darkening of the sky, he realized that there was a great chance that it might start to rain, which wasn't a good thing, given the slippery forest road that they still had to go through.

L's hand made a noise as it scrambled inside the bag, and finally he realised that all the candy had finished. With a mournful look inside, the detective verified his theory and sighed heavily as he tossed the bag on the back seat.

"That wasn't very well-mannered," Light commented without taking his eyes from the road.

L felt irked at the unnecessary criticism and soon they were pointlessly bickering about whose manners were worse, neither of them noticing the occasional raindrops that began filtering through the leafy birch branches.

The forest darkened even further as the rainclouds gathered over them and soon a heavy rainfall began.

The duo only noticed the downpour when suddenly the wheels of the mini slipped on the muddy road. With a curse Light lost control of the car as it spun sideways and one of the tires ended up falling into a particularly deep whole in the road.

"Oh fuck! Shit!" Light cursed, his eyes widening and gripping the stirring wheel harder.

L had gripped the handles of his seat tightly and sat petrified and a bit shocked.

The accident had come from nowhere, and the detective felt surprised that he hadn't registered the rain and the darkness that was spreading in the forest. It was almost as if it was night time, and the curtain of rain was so heavy, that it was hard to see a few meters ahead. The dirt road had become a slippery mud river and the detective stared outside his window helplessly as he realised the severity of their situation.

Light on the other hand kept pressing the gas pedal in his frustration. The small car shook but didn't manage to pull out of the dent in the road.

'No! No…' Light thought in frustration. All he wanted was to arrive and to have his dinner and a decent rest. An accident was not supposed to happen!

"Maybe you should stop doing this, you will exhaust the accumulator and then the car won't start…" L said.

With a feral growl Light switched off the car and sat up on his seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looked out his own window and continued to sulk.

"You don't handle stress too well, do you?" L said.

"I am starving!" Light protested. "You were eating all the way, but I've only eaten the crappy airplane breakfast! We should have stopped to eat in the town, but no…"

"Light, this is an unforeseen circumstance. You should stop being such a baby and get a hold of yourself. Besides, I want to arrive just as much as you do – I have important work to get to. You should have watched where you were going…"

"Hey, don't blame me! You are the one who took us to this god-forsaken road!"

L suppressed his annoyance, unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled his knees to his chest tightly. He stared out his window, away from Light and thought.

Maybe the two of them were not working out so well after all… Not only were they arguing over pointless stuff, but also put them together to do a simple task, such as to travel the distance from London to Whammy's house, and it ended in disaster!

Suddenly Light unbuckled his belt, opened the door and walked out of the car. The sound of rain pouring over trees and hitting the muddy ground filled the mini, as well as a whiff of cold air.

"Get out," Light said from outside.

"What?" L stared incredulously.

Light leaned down to look inside the car. His hair was already soaked wet and clinging to his scalp and cheekbones in a rather appealing way.

"Get out and help me move the car!" Light said.

"No way!" L said, shaking his head. "If you want to push the car, be my guest. But I'm not going out there!"

"I am not going to push the car with your weight inside it," Light said.

L looked away, hugging his knees closer in stubbornness.

"Get out." Light said calmly. "Look, we both want to get to wherever we're going, so get out and be a man about it! Push the car with me!"

L gave Light a look. Was Light telling him to be a man? Seriously?

"Fine! I'll do it myself, you lazy bastard!" Light growled and thrust the driver's door closed, shaking the whole car from the force of the blow.

L remained inside. The air from outside was still detectable. The detective could smell its freshness. It smelled like trees and leaves, and mud and rain. It was also very crisp and L already kind of missed it.

He felt the car shake as something began pushing it from behind. The force was causing the whole car to move forward, but whatever hole the wheel had fallen into was too deep and before the mini could pop out of there, the man pushing from behind lost his energy and let it fall backwards.

For a few minutes L kept staring emotionlessly out the front window, watching the heavy raindrops fall and smudge his vision of whatever was going on outside. The windows of the car were beginning to blur from the temperature difference and he couldn't have seen Light even if he had tried looking through the back window.

Finally the shoving stopped for a longer period of time. L wondered what Light was doing. The detective craned his neck to look behind his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything outside.

A sudden panic made L unfold from his crouch and get out of the car.

As soon as he put his bare feet on the ground he regretted it. The surface was nothing but slippery cold mud and the rain drenched him in a matter of seconds! L turned around to look for his shoes for once in his life actually wanting to put them on… But then he realised that his feet were already muddied beyond repair, so there was no point to put his sneakers now, and ruin them as well.

So he suppressed a groan and closed the door gently behind him. With wet slapping sounds he walked around the car, cringing as the rain ran through his wet hair, over his temples and dripped off from his lashes and chin.

Putting an arm in front of his face, to shield his eyes as much as possible he looked around. In the first instant he didn't see Light and he felt a jolt of panic but after a second look he found him.

Light was sitting with his back leaning against the back of the car. The brunette's empty gaze was fixed somewhere far away in front of him.

"Light-kun?" L asked.

The younger man just tilted his chin up to look at the detective. Light's whole face was covered in splashes of mud, as was his hair, and his once pristine white shirt was now a dirty brown.

L deduced that, without a doubt, Light had slipped during his efforts in moving the car and had fallen face first into the mud. Now he was sulking in indignation. L looked at him. He didn't want to end up all dirty like Light, but what choice did he have?

"Let's push the car," L said with uncertainty.

Light pursed his lips and looked away, contemplating for a few seconds. Finally he got up and ran his hands over his muddy clothing, in an effort to straighten them (failing miserably to achieve anything.) L's eyes ran over the clingy wet shirt without permission. The detective quickly averted his gaze. He could see the outlines of Light's body through his clothing.

"Ok, let's do this," Light said with a sigh, running a dirty hand through his matted hair and brushing the strands back from his face. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the truck and positioning himself for the push.

L's eyes involuntarily skimmed over his back, catching the sight of the taunt muscles flexing and shoulder blades protruding as Light began to apply force and push. L forced himself not to watch. Light looked too hot and it made L cringe internally.

Thankfully, L had something else to do and he busied himself with imitating what Light was doing. He put his hands on the back of the mini as well, beginning to strive forward. Suddenly he realized how Light had fallen into the mud – the ground was so slippery that his feet were slipping backwards, giving almost no leverage for his efforts.

Light let go and got up to take a breath and then re-joined L in their struggle, but it was all in vain. The two pushed and huffed and Light groaned, L bit his lips but they weren't achieving anything.

Suddenly L got an idea and he suddenly let go and straightened up. The car jolted back with the loss of his strengths and it knocked Light off his feet, sending him down in the mud once again.

As Light shouted obscenities, some of which directed to the detective, L ignored him and chewed on his (muddy) fingernail.

"… Are you listening to me?" Light shouted, slapping his hands in the mud around him.

"Light-kun," L said, making the brunette look at him as if he was insane. "Do you realize that the reason we haven't moved this car yet, is not the lack of strength, but the lack of leverage?"

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious!" Light growled, still sulking in the mud.

"Well then, perhaps the wheel of this car would have popped out by now, if it actually had some leverage, don't you think?" L said.

Suddenly Light's face relaxed, as he understood the idea.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked as he got up.

"Let's find a rock or something of the sort to put under the wheel and then we might be able to move the car," L said.

With a sigh, Light began looking for a rock. It wasn't as easy, given the wet ground and the pouring rain, but finally he located a big enough piece of rock to do the trick.

They ended up putting a few such rocks in the dent and then went back behind the car to push.

"When I say three," Light said.

L nodded.

"One, two, three!" Light shouted as he pushed with all his strength, while the surprisingly strong detective did the same.

The car gave a good resistance but finally it pulled out of the hole and began rolling on the road.

Light shouted in elation, while L also pulled his lips in a grin. Light jumped a few times in triumph and suddenly grabbed L's shoulders and patted him hard on the back. Taken by surprise, L's first reaction was to cringe away from the other man's touch, but Light didn't even notice as he was already running to the driver's seat to start the car.

"Hurry up!" Light called before swinging his door shut.

L's felt slightly overwhelmed that Light had just touched him, but tried to clear his head as he got in the car as well.

Light turned the key to start the engine, but… it didn't start.

"Oh fuck!" Light slapped his hands over his face in exasperation.

Had they really left the AC on while they were outside pushing the car? L knew that he should feel worried, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to care in that moment.

"We can push it until it starts," L said. "But maybe we should wait for the rain to stop…"

"No, no point waiting," Light insisted.

"But Light-kun, it's slippery."

"I don't care!"

L got up without protest this time. His body was filled by an odd energy and he didn't really mind pushing the car for just a little while longer.

Light remained in the front, pushing from the driver's door and trying to start the car at the same time, while L got the back.

They pushed, but it was so slippery that soon enough they were exhausted and L ended up falling into a puddle. Light felt the lack of support form behind and realized what must have happened, since he could no longer see the detective's head over the trunk.

The brunette went over to the back and found L on his elbows, lying in deep muddy puddle. The man's face was covered in mud, and for once his expression seemed to resemble something rather than blankness.

Light couldn't help but laugh. L tried to get up but slipped and fell back in.

Laughing, Light went over and yanked the skinner man by the hem of his once white shirt, until L was standing. The shirt clung to L's body and the man shivered in disgust as he felt for the first time the unpleasant feeling of dirt over his skin.

"Maybe we really should wait for the rain to stop?" Light said.

"Yeah…" L said between gritted teeth.

Yeah, that's what they should have done from the beginning, but nooo…

At least L's head was finally cleared again.

They went back into the car. Light sighed as he eyed the removable roof.

"Do you own this car?" Light asked.

"No, I hired it," L said between grit teeth.

"So you hired a mini cooper cabrio for this journey. Very thoughtful of you! Should we open the roof and enjoy the English countryside?" Light teased.

"Light-kun is not being very funny," L said.

"We could create our very own swimming pool if we open the roof now," Light said.

"Does Light-kun want to take a swim in one of the puddles outside," L said, looking at him with a blank look.

"No, I am alright, but perhaps you would like to take another dip into the mud?" Light growled.

They glared at each other for a prolonged moment, sparks flying.

Suddenly Light's stomach growled so loud that it sounded comical. L leaned back into his seat and hugged his knees. He contemplated calling Whammy to send another car for them. But he didn't want to look as if he couldn't do anything on his own…

Light also tried to relax, but he was very uncomfortable and cold. Their seats were muddy and wet as well. The both squirmed uncomfortably, their dirty clothes irritating their sensitive skins and making them itch all over the place.

"Is there anything left to eat?" Light asked after a long pause.

"I am pretty certain there isn't anything to eat in our baggage… There are a few bottles of alcohol in a bag, which Watari purchased from the duty free shop, but that's about it."

Light raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of alcohol?"

…

After a brief run to the back of the car and his return, Light finally sat on the seat with an opened bottle of Scotch in his hand. He had barely taken a few sips and he was already getting dizzy. His alcohol tolerance was rather low, and it didn't take much for him to start felting warmer and much, much better.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" Light said, looking at L from the corner of his eye.

Outside it was still pouring and now it was also completely dark, except for the faint radiance coming from between the tree branches. L's eyes were pretty well adjusted to the dark, so he cold see Light in the deep blue dusk, even though nothing could be seen through the foggy windows.

"I don't like alcohol," L said. He had tasted it once and he had found the taste repelling.

"It will warm you up," Light said, pointing out L's shivering. "Just drink and then we can open the window a bit – the air in here is getting disgusting!"

L had insisted that all the windows staid shut, since he was freezing from the cold rain, and his clothes were nowhere near dry.

"The air isn't disgusting, Light-kun, it's just the temperature difference that is causing this," L ran his finger over the glass, creating a small streak on it's matte surface.

The detective watched as the water gathered at the bottom of the little mark he had left and a drop skimming down. He glanced at the time. It was 7 PM already and soon it was really going to get dark. The detective wondered again if he should call for help. Perhaps they could even walk to their destination, but he didn't really know the way – he had never passed through the old forest road. In fact, this way had been abandoned for such a long time, that L wasn't certain if it actually crossed the forest and arrived at the road, which lead to Whammy's house.

The detective sighed. He shouldn't have trusted the maps and records so much.

L glanced over his shoulder from where he had turned to face the window and saw Light drawing kanji idly on the window beside him.

It was a poem of some sort, but L wasn't completely certain of it's meaning.

"Did you come up with this yourself?" L asked softly.

"No," Light said, with a sigh. "It's a haiku poem by Hiroshige. It comes from my favourite print by him – The Moon over the Waterfall."

"Ah," L said thoughtfully. "I like Hiroshige's work, but I hadn't memorized this particular haiku."

"Which one is your favourite?"

"Haiku or print?"

"Both."

And so they talked for a while, until Light managed to convince L to take a few sips of Whammy's favourite Scotch and warm up.

Half a bottle later, after having chattered about different interests, the duo was quiet. The windows were still completely fogged over, but now they were also covered in various writing and drawings.

Outside it was still raining, but the rain had become a quiet one, softly dripping over the roof of the car and the countless forest leafs. Through the windows, which had been slightly opened, the smell of freshness was entering and an occasional bird call was heard. The two geniuses had made themselves as comfortable as they could at the front seats of the car. Light's feet were on the dashboard, while L was splattered over his seat. Each one of them was staring off somewhere and in his own thoughts.

Light sighed and stretched.

"I am pretty tired. I kind of want to get some rest. But this shirt is repulsing!"

L who was relaxing over the slightly bend back seat felt his eyes drooping as well. His body felt very warm, he might have liked the windows opened a bit more... He felt that he was beginning to fall asleep and thoughts about whom he should call and where they were supposed to be going seemed so far away.

"I'm taking this off," Light announced and before L managed to focus his dual vision on him, Light had unbuttoned his shirt.

L gaped.

Light was now semi naked on the seat beside him, and L couldn't stop himself from staring.

"Like what you see?" Light teased.

"Is Light-kun asking for compliments?" L said, the alcohol unloosening his tongue.

Light's smile was full of meaning, and it seemed as if the younger man was full of retorts, but he was trying to stop himself from saying anything.

"Take this off," Light said instead and tugged at the detective's wet sleeve.

L's hazed brain slowly registered the warmth and thrills he felt in his stomach.

"No…" L said, his gaze lingering on Light's eyes.

That pretty face was so close in the darkness that surrounded them… L couldn't really think.

Light broke the eye contact.

"Fine, whatever, but I'm taking these off as well," Light said as he lifted his backside from the seat and began unbuttoning his trousers in order to remove them.

L's heart began to pound. He watched as the pants slipped off Light's tanned thighs and the brunette sat back down on the black leather seat to pull off the trousers.

L remembered that he wasn't supposed to stare so much and he turned away from the display, making his eyes bore at the window in stead. But he didn't see anything, because in his mind's eye he kept seeing Light as he undressed, right beside him.

Meanwhile, Light climbed between the two seats and got on the backseat, brushing his ribs and hips pass L's shoulder. The dark-haired man felt shivers rake his body, in a spark of electrifying attraction. Of course, L had never felt like this before, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what it was.

He listened to Light fuss about the backseat. The wet clothes came flying back over to the front, the shirt getting hooked on the empty driver's seat, the pants falling on the dashboard, right in front of L.

The detective suddenly wondered if any of this was actually an invitation. Did people just get naked like that and hurl their clothes at your direction, in the real world? L wouldn't really know, for all his social experience came from the observation of criminals and suspects.

A content sigh came from behind and a glance in the rear window verified L's suspicion that Light had curled up on the leather seat, cradling the half empty bottle of scotch and happily dozing off.

Perhaps it wasn't an initiation, because if it were, Light wouldn't be falling asleep, L deduced, feeling disappointed.

L's back was itching from his shirt. Feeling annoyed and unfulfilled he suddenly pulled up his shirt over his head and threw it on the dashboard as well.

He sat with his naked back leaning on his seat for a few seconds, before his eyes instinctively darted to the rear mirror once again.

Light's eyes were opened and on him. Their gazes quickly met.

The brunette held his gaze shamelessly for a prolonged moment, and then looked away and closed his eyes.

L was left breathless in doubt, alone on the front seat. His mind tried to run the race over what had just happened, but the alcohol was dragging it down and soon L fell under the influence of the substances and the exhaustion and fell asleep as well.


	12. Arrival

A phone was ringing…

L could hear it, he registered it, he knew that he had to pick up, but…

It began ringing insistently again and through the haze of tired, lidded eyes, he could see the blurred illuminated screen of the device, which was on the dashboard in front of him, so close and so far away at the same time…

The dashboard was triple and suddenly it dangerously tumbled to one side, so L had to close his eyes, to prevent his world from crashing.

But he had to pick up… it had to be Whammy. He was surely worried…

As soon as the melody had played out, L was asleep again, unable to help it –the alcohol intoxication won over his body, and his mind fell into a soft warm place…

Until the phone started ringing again…

L reached for it, but the world was spinning… Suddenly he was falling head-first into a bottomless chasm…

He was asleep before he hit the bottom.

And the phone rang.

It kept ringing…

…

The phone was ringing again, and this time, L managed to clasp it into his hand and had enough of his wits to take a look at the screen.

Missed calls: Unknown (17)

L groaned and brought a hand to his pounding head. His eyes were having trouble adjusting to the blinding light. And his arm… his shoulder muscles were burning with pain! As was his neck when he tried to stretch it.

A sharp breath and everything was hurting. L was coughing up phlegm, while trying to understand what was happening.

The morning light found the world's greatest detective shirtless, stuck in a car in the middle of a forest, sporting a horrific cold. The activity in the pouring rain had taken a toll on the sheltered detective, who had never done any sort of physical labour, nor was used to being outside at the mercy of the elements.

Now L's throat was so sore that it felt as if it had been split opened from the inside and his chest felt so painful that even the smallest movements made him feel as if his muscles were about to burst.

Sniffing loudly, trying in vain to breathe through his blocked nose, L looked about.

'So this is what a hangover must feel like…' L thought unhappily.

His mind was slow, unable to focus, and he just blankly blinked a few times, staring through the foggy car window, when suddenly it hit him.

He was in a car, in the middle of the forest, for heaven's sakes… With an equally shirtless…

L spun around and saw Light who was still sleeping in the back seat. The young brunette was almost naked – wearing just a pair of black boxer-briefs, which outlined the curve of his hips nicely. The tanned skin looked pale in the overcast English morning.

Light was still hugging the Scotch bottle, which was now more than half-way empty. He must have had some more literary behind L's back.

After a moment of contemplating the state of Light's undress, L jerked into action and grabbed his shirt, which laid on the dashboard. He fumbled with it, trying to put it on as quickly as possible, feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable without it.

L couldn't believe he had fallen asleep shirtless, close to another person, in a car.

Once dressed, L was unsure what to do. Alcohol, hangovers, being stuck in a forest… this was not his domain. But he didn't have any time, so he first made certain Light was truly asleep ("Light-kun! Light-kun! Wake up!"). The brunette was dead to the world, so L dialled Whammy's number.

"Ryuuzaki! Are you alright?" Whammy actually sounded worried.

"Yes," L rasped out, suddenly becoming aware of the state of his voice. He tried clearing his throat.

"Why didn't' you answer my calls?" Whammy got even more worried when he heard L's voice.

"I ran a test on Yagami," L said. "I am calling to tell you that Light and I will be arriving at the House shortly. Is everything ready?"

"Yes, everything is done as you requested," Whammy said with some hesitation. "I assume you will brief me when you arrive then?"

"Yes," L said before he hang up.

He had to come up with some explanation. Both of them were covered in mud. Up until the part where they went and began pushing the car, the truth was ok to confess to Whammy, but the bit after that was quite irrational.

L had no idea what had made him act the way he had the night before. The only explanation was that Light had some scary effect on him, which made him think and do things he would normally not even consider.

And why had he agreed to drink? That had been the biggest mistake, L thought regretfully touching a cold hand to his burning forehead.

Another look at Light, and the detective was fairy certain he wouldn't be able to wake him up. So he moved to the driver's seat and dialled a few numbers.

Soon enough the town guard sent a car to help L jumpstart his car's accumulator.

The big 4x4 pulled over next to the mini and L got out to deal with the road patrol.

"Sir, were you not aware that this road is no longer in use?" the officer said.

He was a young man, in his late twenties, with a distinct local accent and an uniform.

"There were no signs indicating it," L spoke with a fake Japanese accent.

"You are a foreigner, aren't you," the man said. "Where from?"

"Japan," L said and looked away, hoping to discourage any further interaction.

The officer got to work, opening the car's front lid.

"Ohayo!" he said and grinned sheepishly.

L suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't answer and just kept staring blankly at the man, purposefully making him uncomfortable.

The officer cleared his throat and worked with a few wires, connecting the batteries of the two cars until he got a spark.

"So, where were you headed to?" the officer said more formally.

"Just enjoying the country side," L said cryptically.

"Alone?" the officer asked and raised an eyebrow.

L realized that the man was getting suspicious of him and was probably going to ask for papers and to check the car.

"No," L said. "I am traveling with my friend, who is sleeping inside."

"Mind if I take a look at your papers," the officer said, sounding serious.

L gave a chopped nod.

"Certainly," he turned away to hide his annoyance.

The detective opened the door of the car and retrieved the papers from the cabinet. He presented them to the officer, who took a quick look at them.

"Rent-a-car, huh," the anonymous officer said. "Can I see your passports as well?"

L showed him those.

"Can I see Mr. Light Yagami who is supposed to be in this car?" the officer asked.

L internally cringed but kept a straight face as he opened the back door and showed a naked drunk Mr. Light Yagami to the patrol officer.

"Ermmm…" the man's face betrayed the variety of thoughts but he didn't say anything. "You realize that drinking and driving is illegal in this country, right?" the officer said.

Then he asked to measure L's alcohol, finding that he was now just hang over, and safe to drive. Then he checked the baggage, and found Watari's alcohol bottles, which were all legal and bought from the duty free shop.

"Well, I guess you can continue on your way then," the officer said when he was finally leaving. L stood there, feeling as if his life force had been drained from him by the tediousness of this social encounter.

"The road is bad for another 4 miles, after that it's fairly ok, and you have just 6 more miles until the main road. So, just be careful with the dents and you will be fine."

L gave a curt nod and got in the car. He hated driving, however, he patiently drove down the still muddy forest road, going at 5 miles per hour until he reached asphalt again and sped up towards Whammy's house.

L pulled over in front of the heavy iron fence, grateful that he would be able to cradle his throbbing head in his hands again. He was about to call Whammy to have it opened, when he suddenly remembered that Light was still almost-naked.

"Light-kun! Yagami!" L was getting impatient as he reached over and used the tips of his fingers to poke the brunette's shoulder.

Whammy appeared at the entrance and was walking towards the car. He must have been waiting by the window or watching the security footage.

'Fuck,' L cursed internally, a profanity, which he rarely used even in his head.

And with that L drove away, leaving Whammy staring after the car in disbelief.

…

A mile down the road, L found a place to pull over. It was secluded enough, and the road was not busy at all. So he walked over to the back seat and examined the situation.

He had to make Light become dressed somehow.

The clothes, which were discarded the previous day, were not good at all, so L went to the back and looked through Light's personal belongings. There were a few tops and pants there, but they were in so many confusing colours, textures and cuts...

So L chose a plain-looking T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. The detective had no sense of fashion, but those items he could recognize well enough.

However, faced with the predicament of dressing Light, L found himself getting cold feet. He wasn't certain he could touch Light, especially while the younger man was sleeping. It seemed so wrong!

He tried waking the brunette up one final time, before he resolved to dissociate himself from the situation and get the job done.

So he sat Light up on the seat and got the hem of the t-shirt over the brunette's wobbly head. The t-shirt turned out to be a super skinny fit, which basically clung to Light's pecks and abs like a second skin. It was also very light weight and L could see the brunette's nipples through the material.

L bit his lips nervously.

Putting on the jeans was much more difficult. No matter how he maneuverer the younger man's body around, it still didn't help put on the jeans, which according to L were too small. Finally L got Light to lie on his back on the seat, his legs dangling out of the car. The detective kneeled down and carefully maneuverer Light's feet into the pants, one by one. He began pulling the trousers up those toned legs, finding his face and hands too close to the younger man's body.

L's face was bright pink with embarrassment. The jeans were another very skinny fit, so it took L a lot of fumbling until he understood that he couldn't get them on gently.

After about 5 minutes L lost his patience and grabbed Light's waste, lifting his body up and pulling violently.

The commotion woke Light up with a start.

The brunette was horribly confused.

"I am trying to dress you, Light-kun," L said calmly. "You prefer to be decent, right…"

With a final jerk, L had the jeans over Light's backside and up to his waist line.

There was just one thing left.

L glanced at Light's wide eyes.

"Can you do it yourself?" L asked hopefully.

Light stared at him and then let his head fall back and began groaning. Surely he had a hangover many times worse than L's.

Resigned to his fate, L put his hands on the zipper.

Light's hands were covering his face and his head was turning from side to side, groaning.

Biting his lips, and trying to think of something else, L zipped Light's fly up and did the button on top. Then he pulled the t-shirt as down as it could go, but there was still some space between the low-rise jeans and the lower hem of the shinny t-shirt. That space was now the realm of black boxer briefs and tanned abs…

"Light brought his baby clothes…" L commented.

"You idiot…" Light growled and curled on his side.

L looked away. Light was still clutching his head, but at least he was awake. So L got back to the front seat and drove back to Whammy's.

…

All in all, his latest plan had been a disaster. Arriving for the second time all muddy at Whammy's, having to explain Light's state, and all the subsequent was not L's idea of a genius plan of action.

Whammy looked worried on too many levels.

Many of L's successors saw his (second) arrival in a dirty mini cooper, dragging out a hangover Japanese man, dressed somewhat wrongly, and of course the bottle of Scotch, which fell out after the latter was pulled out of the car. The glass broke on the asphalt in front of the orphanage and the scotch spilled over the daisies.

L's head was spinning.

"You should probably catch some rest first," Whammy said, after Light had been carried to his allocated room, and after L had escaped all the curious gazes inside his office on the third and final floor of Whammy's House.

L's quarters were basically occupying the whole third floor, which was much smaller than the lower two, and had scooped ceilings and large windows, shaded by heavy curtains.

The only way to get to L's office was by a massive wooden staircase from the second floor. Then there was a narrow hallway with three polished wooden doors. Two of them were always closed, while one of them was always wide opened – that of L's office and reception room. It was the room where Rodger and the rest of the staff could come to talk to him, and the room where his successors had access to him, if they ever had the time or the permission to visit him.

It was also the room where he was currently going through his case files and talking to Whammy. Whammy, who owned the place, was the only other person allowed into all the rooms on the third floor, which made sense also because he was in charge of cleaning them.

"I lost too much time," L said, stepping into his favourite couch and pulling his laptop close.

"You have to rest in order to recover from your hangover," the elder man said kindly.

"I am not hangover," L said and didn't pay attention to Whammy anymore.

Soon he was submerged in his work, and he barely noticed Whammy disappearing and appearing again with a glass of effervescent medicine and a food tray.

"I don't need this," L said, ignoring the medicine.

"Please take some, you seem to be catching a cold," Whammy said.

"I will be fine," L said and grabbed a doughnut from the tray, stuffing it directly into his mouth, eyes never leaving the computer screen.

…

Whammy's house was buzzing with talk about L's arrival and the rather extravagant appearance it had been!

All students were aware of who L was, even though very few of them had ever caught more than a glimpse of him. Whenever the world's greatest detective was home, he spent all his time on the top floor, not leaving it for anything. Food was carried to him by Whammy personally and the man didn't seem to do anything besides working all day and night, so he never went downstairs, socialized or took a walk in the surrounding grounds.

Given L's eccentricity, the talk about him dragging a hangover man into the orphanage was not as popular as the fact that he had come back at all! L had been staying somewhere unknown to the students for the last 3 years and a certain blonde-head was extremely hyped about his return…

Of course that was one of the top two students lined up for L's title. Number one was an albino boy called Near, aged 13. He was a tiny thing, small and white all over, with the exception of his piercing dark eyes. He had an angelic curly mane but his manner reminded more of a kicked pudel than an angel, because of the way he slouched and sat on the floor all day, barely lifting his gaze from his puzzles.

He didn't appear to be phased by L's return. In fact, he didn't appear to be phased by anything.

However, number two on the List made up for number one's lack of emotions with a fiery downpour of such. Mello, a blonde 15-year-old boy was literally jumping up and down with excitement over L's return. His best friend could barely keep up with his rattling about it when he heard the news. Mello was as smart as Near, however his emotions usually lead him to making rash, illogical decisions, and thus he always ended up ranking second. It frustrated Mello more than anything, but he was far from giving up on L's title. In fact, if killing the albino brat wasn't going to work, Mello was resolved on convincing L personally that he was fit for the title.

That's why this visit was so important – finally Mello was going to get a chance to talk to L! Mello had tons of speeches ready and hoped that he'd manage to get an opportunity to talk to him. The previous time he had the chance to speak to L was when he had officially met the detective in person, (for a total of 3 minutes), and he had been 12, so he hadn't really managed to impress him.

This time Mello was going to show him!

“No doubt you will, man,” Matt (the best friend) was trying to reassure him and calm him down.

Matt was also 15, a very intelligent kid, possibly more gifted than both Near and Mello, because he balanced out emotions and reason much better than the two. However, he was not competing for L's title. He had chosen to pursue his own interests and was following a separate program.

Rodger had tried endless antics to convince the teenager to follow a schedule, but Matt had insisted that he would find his own resources for learning and educate himself.

Whammy and L had instantly approved this decision, given that L had done the same as a child. And they provided the young prodigy with everything he requested on his quest for "self-education". That included mostly computers, technology, and absolutely every type of game console on the market.

Whammy had at first secretly hoped that perhaps Matt could be the next L, because he showed the type of genius, which he had found in L as a young boy. But the detective had known from the start that it wouldn't be the case. He had quickly deduced that Matt's passion for games and procrastination was going to lead him away from the career, which L had chosen.

And, perhaps Matt was just too perceptive for that. Unlike Near and Mello, he seemed to have noticed and understood that L's crown was a very heavy one. Perhaps L wouldn't have taken it up if he had seen what it would be like beforehand as well.

But back to the topic, the 15 year-old was showing amazing competence as a hacker and was doing a very useful job for L, hacking and acquiring information, which the detective needed. The hacking had first come into play as "Matt's means to getting the material he needed for self-education", but soon enough it had become a hobby (if it ever had been the first at all.)

L was fine with it all. He had financed almost every tech-related whim that Matt had, which resulted in things like a basement full of servers, loaded with information that was technically dangerous to have.

Those servers were L's endless resources of information, and also the storage space for any information related to his cases, himself and the orphanage, as well as various buildings he had constructed throughout the world.

L also stored sensitive information for several governments and important people.

It was a nifty idea to dump all that stuff underneath a country orphanage, surrounded by miles of fields and forests.

Only one road passed close to Whammy's house and only one private street lead to it. From above, it looked like a small estate, nothing in particular. Children were always running around, all of whom were smart enough to feign perfect innocence for any random passerby.

Whammy had made a point not to take in any more disturbed or mentally unwell children, no matter how brilliant, after the case of B…

Back to B… L didn't want to think about him, but memories of his “Backup” always haunted him in Whammy's house.

Even in that moment, while L was sitting comfortably in his familiar chair, he still felt chills running up his spine. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw something moving in the deep shadows that tended to gather in the corners of his office. But when he spun around, there was nobody there. Just the ghosts of fear and guilt.

L realized his chin was resting on his knees and he had been drifting off with thoughts. Some random, some to the point.

He looked at the paper he was clutching, and then at the time.

It was 4:05 am. He felt uncharacteristically tired and sick. Most likely due to the hangover, which he didn't have, and the cold, from which he was not suffering. Perhaps it was not such a bad idea to go get some sleep, because his tired eyes kept seeing things that were not there and made him jolt in panic, if even just for a moment at a time.

But the truth was… L felt his blood run cold just at the though of leaving his warm seat on the leather couch and venturing to the other rooms, which were always so dark and empty.

One of the two other rooms on the floor was in fact his official bedroom. But that room was dark and cold and L always dreaded the moments before he turned on the lights. He knew that the sheets on the large king-sized bed were always clean and fresh when he visited, but there was a district feel of desolation to that place, probably from the almost complete lack of use.

Somehow, on nights such as that one, when L felt as tired and vulnerable as he could get, he found himself the most reluctant to venture anywhere near his bedroom. The place scared him and he wouldn't be able to fall asleep in the strange room even if he tried.

So he remained on his seat, not moving an inch. It was ok to fall asleep there. The lights were on, and the door was wide opened for a swift escape if needed. Whammy was just downstairs, and so was Light…

Light had slept the whole day, and was probably still doing so. He had a room on the first floor, where most of the faculty and staff rooms were. His was a normal sized room, with the exception of the en-suit bathroom, which was a luxury for the house. Most other students had to make use of the shared bathrooms spaces, with separate cubicles, much like those in sports' centres.

L was nodding off. Thinking of Light made him feel safer for some reason… so he dozed off.


	13. A Contract

L woke up an hour later, quite refreshed from his nap, but at the same time with a really sore throat. He must have been breathing through his mouth while he slept, which had made the inflammation more acute. He could barely swallow his saliva, let alone eat.

After trying really hard to force a chocolate doughnut down his aching throat, and stoically overcoming the pain, L found that his efforts had been rewarded. Magically, after eating the tasty treat his throat felt many times better and he perked up enough to eat some more and drink some cold tea.

His forehead felt a bit warm, and his eyes were stinging, but he ignored the symptoms and resumed working.

It was still quite early – 5:10 am. Whammy had to be still resting. The official waking hour of the orphanage was 7 am. So, L had almost 2 hours to work unperturbed before he had to get to a different kind of task.

Of course, that morning someone had to show Yagami the institution and (mis)inform him about certain things… Unfortunately none of the staff in Whammy's house were smart enough to fool Light about anything. Perhaps Whammy could do it… But then again, it seemed to be L's job, since he had made the choice to bring Light there...

Normally L wouldn't hold anything against being the one to implant a few untruths in Light's head, but there was a big inconvenience involved – Whammy's house itself. It was full of children, and they all knew him.

L absolutely hated having to socialise so he avoided leaving his floor. Partially it was because L was really unused to being approached. When he lived in hotels, even if he passed through crowded lobbies, nobody ever talked to him. Until recently, Whammy was the only person that communicated in person with L. And then, there was Light.

L didn't want to socialise with ANYONE else and two people were more than enough for him. In fact, he had just doubled the size of his social circle, hadn't he? So he deserved a big break from making any more connections.

Inconveniently, many of the orphans were absolutely crazy about meeting him, and if L went downstairs, it was guaranteed that someone would rise to the occasion. There were a few kids that really wanted to get in contact with him, Mello was probably the most eager, and the most intelligent one. The blond boy was surely going to get to L if the detective ventured downstairs…

L sighed, trying to think of some way around the problem. There was only one solution – the tour had to happen immediately – he was going to wake Light up straight away and be well finished before the children's waking time. 

It was a fail-proof plan, L reassured himself.  
…

Two floors bellow, Light Yagami laid on his back, arms wrapped behind his head, gazing at the ceiling. His stomach was growling from hunger. He had slept through the previous day, but had woken up at 3 am, jet-lagged and hungry.

He had taken in the room. It was a plain room with white walls, furniture that looked a bit utilitarian, but still of good quality – a desk, a single bed, a medium cupboard, a nightstand, a window, a door, which surely lead to a private bathroom.

Light had no recollection of how he had ended up there. The last thing he remembered was being inside the car with L, drinking Scotch. After that he had some muddled memories. He remembered that at some point he had taken off his clothes, which made the young man cringe in horror.

He had NEVER been so drunk in his life, and he had never done anything so embarrassing and foolish in his life. Light was mortified, but he was going to try to keep his pride and his cool intact. It was only going to be worse if L found out that Light had lost control that night and that he was remorseful about how he had behaved.

But the main question was, who the hell had dressed him? Upon waking, Light had been shocked to find himself in one of his layering t-shirts, which should never be worn without a sweater on top, and his going-out skinny jeans. Those items didn't look right when put out of context.

Judging by the total lack of style, it had to be L. Something between embarrassment and anger stirred in Light when he thought of L putting clothes on him. The brunette snuggled his face in the crook of his elbow, hiding himself from the empty room for a second. It didn't help that he didn't know where this empty room was. He had missed where they were going entirely by getting obliterated.

Never again, Light though angrily. He was never going to drink again.

The train of disturbing thoughts got interrupted when at around 3:50 am the complete silence of the place was broken.

Light heard movement somewhere in front of his door. There were soft footsteps, somewhat rushed and fumbling. Light listened up, because it was soon apparent that whoever was outside was congregating close to his room.

With alarm, and inane paranoia, Light quietly rose to his bed.

He could now hear hushed voices, whispering something right in front of his door. Afraid of the worst, Light got up and tiptoed to the door, where he pressed his ear to the wood and listened.

There were definitely two people there, and they sounded strangely like teenagers. They were speaking rapidly in English, and their slang and accents were so strong that he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Light felt frustrated for still not getting the accent. He remained there, pressed to the door and listening. Soon he got a part of the conversation, which was mostly casual teenage talk, slang and swearing.

After about an hour of obsessive eavesdropping, Light deduced that whatever was happening in front of his door, mostly likely didn't hold any danger to his person, so he went back to bed.

If anything, these "Matt" and "Mels" seemed pretty young by the way they hissed at each other, and preoccupied with something that had no connection to Light.

The brunette laid back down and waited to be collected and (hopefully) taken to breakfast.

…

L ate one last doughnut (the last one of the tray – he had meant to stop at some point, but he had finished them all) and quietly made his way through the door of his office and down the corridor. He felt slightly sick, and his head was pounding, but he ignored it.

He walked barefoot over the worn wood of the old staircase. The texture of the wooden floor felt familiar under the soles of his feet and brought back so many memories of his childhood and the endless days when he had dragged himself around those corridors. He knew each creaky spot and avoided them expertly, moving through the orphanage like a ghost.

The second floor was quiet and dark. All of the children's bedrooms were located on that level, and L's stairs were in the middle of a U shaped corridor, which corresponded to the shape of the building. The middle part was right underneath L's floor, but there were two large wings, called "the east" and "the west" wings.

On both sides of where the staircase landed there were rolls of doors. On one side were the younger children's shared bedrooms, where in each, 2-6 kids slept. On the other side there were the doors of the smaller bedrooms, which were for children over 12. Those were single or double rooms, since children over12 got to choose whether to live alone or share with a friend.

Outside the sun was soon going to rise, but the sky was so overcast with dark clouds that it was likely going to be dark until 7 am.

The first floor was mainly teaching rooms, an immense library, a large lecture theatre (that could be turned into a film projection room for special occasions), a spacious dinning area, the kitchen and several activity rooms. Roger's room, Whammy's room, the faculty's room, and of course, Light's room.

The detective was overcome by memories of so many times he had sneaked into the kitchen in the middle of the night to grab something to eat inside his room, in order to avoid the other children during meal times. At the time there had been very few orphans in the house, but Whammy had bought a large estate for the purpose of filling it with young geniuses. During that period he brought new orphans almost every month. Children had also been transferred away just as often, if they failed to follow the strict curriculums.

L never had a problem with falling behind, in fact he had been on the top of every list. He took in information so quickly that he had gained permission to study whatever he wanted. Even so, it took Whammy some time to understand just how great his potential was, but once he had, the old inventor had focused the main part of his attention on the black-haired child.

L had been 11 when he solved his first case for entertainment. But after he helped the police through letters and baffled all the detectives and investigators with his shrewdness, it became apparent that he had a talent for it. So he solved a few more cases like that, cases that the police deemed impossible. Upon seeing this, Whammy had asked L if he wanted to become a detective.

L had loved the idea of solving cases all the time, since it was something he enjoyed. And that's how it began…

Soon after L didn't have to sneak any food at night. He could get everything brought to him at any time, and he could ask for any treat in the world, since he was making so much money with his new career that he covered the entire expenses of Whammy's house.

He had been 14 when he first moved out and began traveling the world with Whammy as his guardian and public contact. L had been thrilled to be able to eat sweets without restriction, to solve any case he liked and to be able to avoid all contact with the rest of the world. It had suited him just fine.

L pushed away those memories and focused on the present. Yagami's door was just in sight. 

Suddenly, out of the shadows, a tall blonde boy strut into view. He was wearing all black clothing – a t-shirt which was missing its sleeves and had it's neckline "adjusted", tight jeans and knee-high boots. A silver cross was dangling from his neck to outline a V down his chest.

And then another familiar figure appeared, following the first one close. The other boy was red-haired, in a striped t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. He had headphones covering his ears, and was holding an iPhone, with a game menu set on Pause.

L wanted to take a step backwards, because he recognised the teenagers. However, he was frozen in spot, immediately putting on his most expressionless mask.

"So Matt, where should we head to next…" Mello spoke conversationally as if he had just been taking a stroll with his friend, instead of waiting to ambush the detective, and then, "L! Fancy seeing you here!"

Mello made quick steps towards L, his eyes doubled in size with a huge grin on his face.

He had grown, L observed.

"I'm happy to see you here," Mello said, keeping his voice down, but his eyes betrayed the exhilaration he felt from seeing his idol.

Yet, this teen was nowhere near the hysterical brat, which L remembered. This version of Mello was older and took himself very seriously.

"Things haven't been very interesting here, right Mattie," Mello continued nudging his friend without taking his eyes off the detective. "But now that you are here, I assume that this will change…"

"How long have you been waiting outside Yagami's door?" L interrupted.

"Just a few hours," Mello said still grinning and unperturbed of being busted. He was also quite used to that kind of dismissive treatment – everyone knew that L wasn't one of social graces. 

However, even though Mello was keeping it cool, his heart was about to burst. L was there – tall, lean, black haired, pale, and absolutely wonderful L! The legend, the idol, the L… …

Matt on the other hand stood just behind his friend's left shoulder and observed the man who pretty much determined their fate, but whom they almost never got to see. There was something quite awe inspiring at the sight – this man was as unreachable and as powerful as a god. He was cold, precise, emotionless, strong, and symbolised justice. Or so they had been told, and so it seemed. Matt wasn't one to believe in facades though, so he was going to observe further before he wholeheartedly agreed.

Matt knew why Mello would worship him though. L was amazing. More like a machine then a human. But still – L was finally standing in front of them and Matt was fairly certain that there was blood and bones beneath that unblemished pale exterior.

L was just a young man. And not a very large one either.

L was much smaller than what Matt remembered from their one and only meeting 3 year before. The top of Mello's 15 year-old head was up to this black-haired man's eyes.

True, L was so slouched that he lost at least 2 inches of his height. But still, he couldn't be more than 1,80 m in full height. And, to say that L was skinny would be an understatement. His shoulder were broad, but the bones that Matt could see over the rim of L's wide-neck shirt and the bony wrists and fingers suggested that L was severely undernourished.

And the dark circles underneath his eyes gave away a degree of exhaustion that scared Matt. The man's hair was tossed in all directions, as if he had never brushed it. All in all, there was something quite wrong with L, anyway you put it. Yet, Mello didn't see any of that. All he saw were the man's achievements. And perhaps he had the better point of view, Matt thought as he focused back on the conversation.

Mello was chattering, betraying his nervousness, and L was just staring at him and gnawing on his thumb. If one didn't know any better, Matt thought, it would seem that L was nervous as well.

All of a sudden a door opened, startling everyone and saving Mello, who was starting to run out of lines and unable to cut to the point.

"Ryuuzaki?" Light said as he appeared at the door. He had changed his clothes to a white shirt and pressed navy pants. How come his clothes didn't have wrinkles even though they had been in the suitcase for a while, L couldn't fathom.

A wave of relief washed over the detective.

"Yagami-kun, I was just coming to collect you for the introduction to our new office," L said in Japanese.

Mello made a sour expression. He was learning Japanese, but he was not that good at speaking it yet. Matt was MUCH better, with all the anime he watched.

"I guess I will catch you later, Ryuuzaki," Mello said in Japanese, feeling dejected.

"Goodbye," L said blankly and watched as his possible successors shuffled away. Mello really looked as if L had stolen his lollipop and L felt a bit bad about that.

"Bye, bye!" Matt called cheerfully, waving with one hand, and patting his friend on the back, leading him away with the other.

….

"So, what is this place?" Light quirked up one eyebrow, watching L's pale face in the dim corridor in front of his room.

Moments ago a pair of teenagers had approached the world's greatest detective and then disappeared somewhere down the hall, making Light really confused about the nature of this so called "new office".

"This place is known as Whammy's House for Gifted Children," L explained. "It is an orphanage, which houses and trains young genii for careers of their choice. I fund this institution, so I thought it was a good place for us to start, since we have all the equipment and resources here, that could serve for your training."

"So, you are into charity?" Light smirked.

"You can say that," L said, turning around and beginning to walk. Light followed him, realising that the tour had started.

"Were you, by any chance, raised here as well?" Light asked.

L's eyes widened momentarily, but his counterpart couldn't see that, he was walking a few steps behind.

"What makes you say that?" the detective asked.

"Those kids knew you personally and you obviously know this place very well. It's an orphanage for "gifted children" and you mentioned careers and training… it would make sense if you were raised here and you decided to acquire and fund this place to help kids who are like you," Light explained.

L didn't say anything for a second.

"Also, you really don't seem like the charitable type," Light added teasingly.

"Do I look callous to you?"

"Yes," Light said. "Too cynical and cold to be funding orphanages if you were not somehow personally affected. Also, it's hard to imagine any parent allowing you to develop this posture…"

L turned around swiftly and Light almost bumped into him as he stopped almost nose-to-nose with the dark-haired man.

"Does Light-kun have a problem with me today?" L asked. His voice was as calm as always but his eyes were particularly steely.

"I was just making an observation," Light answered in a low tone. "I had no idea you were so touchy…"

L felt his fists itch to hit Light across the face, and his patience was hanging on a threat, but he held back. He couldn't begin with Light in that way!

He had to find another way or the teenager was going to end up hating him. L really didn't want that, and it was already bad enough that Light didn't seem to like him and his posture...

L tried not to feel hurt. Since when was he so "touchy" anyway?

"Yagami-kun is becoming very familiar with me," L's tone also lowered as he concentrated on his anger, instead of his more mushy emotions. "I'd advice him to remember, that I would now be his employer, and he can show some respect."

Light stared at him with a blank façade, but L could tell that Light was thinking that it was going to be hard to take the detective too seriously. Because of the way L carried himself obviously. L felt the urge to force his back to straighten, so that Light wouldn't look down on him, but he resisted that impulse. It was going to be too obvious.

Instead he pretended not to notice what was behind Light's caramel eyes and continued walking.

"I will explain everything, if you have any questions, hold them until the end," the detective said, knowing it was going to turn this encounter into a monologue on his part, but it was probably for the best.

….

After the duo had went through all of the first floor, the adjunct 2 buildings, briefly toured the grounds and the garages, finally they accented the stairs to the second and third floor of the main building.

L quickly explained the living situation for the children on the second floor and hurried to the third one, which was all his, since the clock was getting dangerously close to 7 am.

Finally on the third floor, as they walked down the unlit corridor Light heard the sound of bells coming from the Chapel outside. The slow, solemn sounds made his skin prickle and haunted his mind for a long time after it beat 7.

A door was opened and through the large, mostly covered by curtains windows, the grey morning light illuminated an office. The furniture was made of mahogany wood and looked classy and expensive. Most of the building was equipped with high-end furniture and equipment – everything looked shiny and new, however, compared to what L had for himself, it looked cheap.

The desk, which was situated in the centre of the room was larger than the Light's family dining table and it probably weighted 5 times as much, with it's solid design. The chair behind it was textured with dark brown leather, which looked ridiculously expensive. 

Computers, paperwork, and empty plates of sweets covered the whole place and in the middle of it all was a food chariot. There was a mini-fridge in the corner, which was designed to fit in, with its wooden finish. It looked custom made.

On one side of the room there was an empty fireplace, which looked as if it was rarely lit. Next to it there were two large single couches, which looked terribly comfortable, and entirely too big for someone like L. There was a coffee table in the middle, covered in files.

On the other side of the room there was another table, covered by two large server computers and a laptop balancing on top of them. Around them, there were two multi-seat couches that all together could hold about 8 people over a meeting.

And finally, all the walls of the room were completely hidden by bookshelves with heavy volumes. Light had seen many more downstairs in the large, modern library, which was crammed with shelves of textbooks and case studies in every subject imaginable, as well as world classics (however, the fiction section had been very poor – almost none existent, as Light imagined the kids at this institution rarely had the time to read unassigned readings).

L had also taken Light to the "Old Library" which was a much smaller but cosier place, a large hall on two levels, with bookshelves attached to the walls. In the middle there were rolls of desks and some couches and workstations for students to utilize. Light had liked the antique-style of that place and couldn't wait to snuggle there with a book on one of those rainy English evenings of which he had only read in novels.

However, at present L was showing him to one of the large chairs in front of the desk and sat on his large swivel leather chair behind it.

"As you can see, this is my office," L said. "You were quite right in your earlier deductions and as you can see, I am here often enough that I have established a space for myself."

Light wondered what outrages lie the detective might have been planning to feed him, in case Light hadn't said anything about his suspicions. L was probably going to say that he was temporarily taking up the office space of an absent headmaster, which was surprisingly well fit to the detective's needs and lifestyle…

Did Light really seem so stupid to L? At least, Light had showed him, even though the detective hadn't taken it too well and the younger man couldn't figure out why.

"You will be assigned classes and activities for the first two weeks of your stay while you adjust. After that I will introduce you to some case studies and you will begin helping me with some of my ongoing cases. Most of your activities would be assigned for during the day, unless you would prefer another time."

"Daytime sounds good," Light said.

"I have to warn you, that the workload might have you studying into the night and it might affect your sleep patterns," L said as if reading Light's mind.

Light frowned.

"It's no good warning me now, is it? I have already made the decision to be here, so a warning would have been useful before…"

L's face was unreadable as he stared at Light.

"I haven't changed my mind, I will work as much as necessary," Light added, feeling irritated for having to justify himself. "Go on, please."

"Would you like to help me choose the subjects that you would begin with?" L asked, dismissing the tension of the moment.

The two discussed Light's curriculum for a lengthy hour and a half until they settled for Light covering the program of the undergraduate degree of Oxford University in Law in 6 months and then covering the postgrad in another 6 months. He was going to be remotely tutored by Oxford university staff and was going to access recorded lectures for the purposes of his education. He was going to study law, criminology, human rights, jurisprudence, legal history, socio-legal studies and so on. He was also going to be taking Latin and psychology on top of that. L had also insisted on French, German and Russian, which Light was going to study in that sequence.

"This should do for your first year here in terms of education," L said.

"How many years will I spend here," Light asked.

"It depends," L said. "If you are exceptionally good, you won't spend even an year here, but you will need to complete at least these two degrees before we proceed with further education."

L rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb as he thought. Light could be studying while working with L and traveling the world, but it was best if that happened after at least a year of serious study at Whammy's. L was probably going to have to travel around the world, but he could return often to check on Light's progress. Either way, the detective was going to try to spend as much time as possible in Whammy's with Light, because he didn't want Light to just be a successor. He wanted him as a partner most of all, so building a relationship was going to be more important then testing Light's limits.

"So…" Light interrupted his thoughts and L realised he had spaced out.

"Ah, I'm sorry," the dark-haired man got up from his chair and walked around the table to Light, who had also stood up. "I will be here in this room most of the time and you can always have access to me. So don't hesitate to come speak to me about anything."

"So, you are not planning on taking off? The boys we met earlier implied that you are not here very often," Light said.

"It won't do if I don't train you personally," L said. "As I said earlier, you will be following the curriculum which we discussed just now, and you will begin your studies immediately. For two weeks you will only study, as you will need time to adjust to the new rhythm. However, after that, you will begin working with me on top of those studies."

Light blinked slowly.

"I understand that you won't have much free time, and that it will be quite a shift from your past lifestyle, so I won't burden you much in the beginning," L said. "However, if you want to work with me, you will have to learn to deal with a lot of pressure, since the job requires it at the most crucial of times. A part of this education aims to teach you how to operate under pressure, anxiety and tiredness."

Light was still silent.

"Everyone here is aware that the sort of pace, which you will be required to have is above average, and that is the whole point. Don't worry, nobody underestimates what you are requested to achieve – the fact that I am even requesting this of you, means that I have an above average opinion of you."

L was really running out of encouraging words to say. He hoped he hadn't made Light reconsider his decision.

The detective knew from experience that studying as hard as Light was going to have to study was both exhausting and isolating. He knew that when he had done it, he had wanted to quit many times, however he hadn't had a better alternative, so he had pressed on. The problem was that in Light's case he had a better alternative – he could just go home. How long was Light going to hang on to the excitement of finally being rid of his boredom?

"Is there going to be some sort of contract involved?" Light asked as if reading L's thoughts.

Now L was frowning uncomfortably.

"Yes, but I thought we don't need to sign anything today. I wanted to give you at least 3 days of evaluation before you decide if you really want to do this," the detective said.

"Or you didn't want to scare me," Light chuckled. "Don't worry, L. I am ready to sign your contract right now. I won't change my mind. I can handle your curriculum and you don't have to coddle me."

'I am the best you have ever met,' Light though. 'Don't underestimate me or compare me to the pathetic 'genius' children who study here, many of which probably follow the same curriculum in hopes of becoming like you, L. I will show you.'

L lifted an eyebrow.

"As you wish," he said, sensing the arrogance behind Light's statement.

Well, if that's how Light wanted it… L was more than willing to bind him immediately. He quickly printed a contract, which he had typed up earlier and handed it to Light.

"You are not signing it anywhere," Light observed as he read the conditions. They corresponded to what they had talked about, but were cryptic enough not to give out anything about L or his organisation.

"No," L answered simply.

"Whom would this contract serve in front of?" Light asked as he signed.

He couldn't imagine L taking him to court with that thing if Light decided to break the rules. After all – this was L – he was the law. There was no where higher to take Light to, so...

"You," L said and cracked a rare smile.


	14. First Day

Later that day Light began his classes. He was given a laptop and a hard drive. The hard drive contained all the lectures of a 4-year undergraduate degree at Oxford. There was also an assignments folder, if Light ever felt like he needed any.

He was also given a neat little iPhone (with a tracking device), which could only reach a few selected numbers. ("More numbers will be allowed later on.") It also had a sweet little function that when you hit "L" it called L, which for some reason was hilarious to Light.

He never got to see what number it was dialling, whereas all the other folks he could access – Watari, Roger, the faculty and his program coordinator in Oxford, all had numbers for Light to see.

Light was going to attend examinations at Oxford University during the exam sessions. He was going to stay in the town of Oxford for a week, taking the exams for all 4 years consequently, while other students were only going to take the exams of their semester. Light was looking forward to visiting the town, which he knew to be very picturesque, even though he doubted he would have the time to explore amongst the exams.

During the first day, Light was surprised by how few the students of Whammy's House actually were. There weren't more than 50 students all together, even though there were so many classrooms and activity rooms, books, and materials. The kids did look pretty smart but odd. Many of them seemed socially stunned, mildly autistic or just generally quiet.

He didn't see Mello or Matt, (the two teenagers, whom he had met) until the evening when they finally showed up for dinner. The lanky blonde boy was yawning theatrically as he paced through the dinning hall as if he owned the place. He made a show of having just woken up and put his feet on the table. Matt, his best buddy it seemed, a boy with a deep red hair, which caught Light's attention because he had never seen a natural red-head before, never lifted his eyes from his iPhone. He seemed to be playing something and his fingers danced across the touchscreen with stunning speed.

Light wondered what those two did in the house. They didn't look like geniuses to him. They seemed more like the rebel type.

Another kid caught his attention as well. A tiny albino child, which reminded him of L in so many ways, but at the same time was quite different (the white/black hair difference set aside). The boy (or girl, Light couldn't tell from afar) was dressed in oversized white pyjamas from head to toe and looked like a rag doll in the boneless way, in which he moved around and sat on the ground. He had piercing black eyes that caught Light's curious stare and held it for one intense moment that made Light think of L.

Nobody approached Light during dinner, but afterwards Mello caught up with him.

"Hi, Light," the blonde said in English.

"Hi, Mello," Light responded in the same language.

"You remembered my name," Mello smiled sweetly. "That's nice. So, let's cut the crap, shall we?"

"Cut the crap?" Light raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Aw, so you haven't lived in an English speaking country before and you don't know the slang," Mello said. "Cut the crap… it's like let's get to business."

"You have some business with me?” Light raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Mello said. "I'm here to give you a tour around."

"Thank you for the kind offer, but L already showed me everything," Light said politely.

"Really? That's interesting. I didn't know that he had the time to give tours," Mello said, but he didn't look surprised. "Anyway, why don't you come with me, I'll show you places, which I'm sure he has overlooked or doesn't know about. He doesn't come here too often, you see. Come on, Light," Mello took him by the sleeve and tugged him along the corridor.

Light cringed at the physical contact but followed the blonde boy. He had nothing to lose from this anyway. Perhaps he was going to learn something useful.

…

Mello took Light outside and they walked into the open grounds, which surrounded the estate. The clouds had somewhat cleared up and the rain, which had drummed on Light's window all day had finally stopped to reveal patches of sunset orange and purple coloured sky.

The light in England was different then that in Tokyo – everything looked so dark or bright, there was little in between. Now the sky seemed overly bright for the greyness underneath. However, Light kind of liked the smell of rain and it was all very exotic to him, so he didn't mind the walk outside at all. He admired the paleness of Mello's face and judged that if every day was so cloudy, no wonder none of these children had any tan. It almost explained L's ghostly paleness as well, but not entirely. L was a bit too outrageously pallid – as if he never went out.

Mello took him to an area, which was designed for jogging and exercise. There was a wooden climbing wall set next to the jogging path.

Mello climbed the soggy wood and sat on top tapping the space next to him. Light wasn't completely convinced of the choice of sitting, but followed the younger teenager, climbed on top and manoeuvred his longer legs over the edge until he sat on top as well.

For a moment they were silent as they took in the surroundings. There was a cold breeze and Light wished he had taken something heavier than his summer jacket, which he had brought from Japan. Clearly the weather in England required heavier clothing, even though the locals didn't seem to think so. Mello was out in just a 3 / 4 sleeved black t-shirt. The wind was picking up the edges and making them dance around his skinny frame. Light shivered and clung to his jacked even tighter.

There was a large oak tree right over the wall on which they sat. It shaded the place and with the falling gloom it was soon going to be hard to distinguish them from a far.

Finally Mello began to speak again.

"So, where are you from, Light? Japan?"

"Tokyo," Light responded. "And you?"

"Who knows," Mello said and smirked. "We're all orphans here, as L might have told you."

Light nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be – it's quite alright. We are in good hands here," Mello smiled again.

Something about this kid made Light feel as if he wasn't being told the whole truth. Then he remembered that this boy was supposedly a genius and that appearances could be very deceptive. Light had been quite careless with him, but he decided to be careful with what Mello told him, and what he said to him.

Something about Mello's eyes seemed sharper. As if he caught the change in Light.

"We are talking small talk again," Mello said. "Do you understand "small talk"?"

"Yes, of course," Light nodded.

"In that case, I'll ask you directly – why did L bring you here?" 

The smile was no longer on Mello's face. 

Light wondered how to respond. If the children hadn't been told anything, then it was best not to reveal the truth. However, L had made it pretty clear that most of these children had no idea who L was or what he did. At least, that's what the dark-haired man had said. However, Light wasn't completely certain he could trust everything the detective said either.

"I have a question for you too," Light said, "How do you know L?"

Mello rolled his eyes.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Do I have to?" Light asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Mello looked at him for a prolonged moment. He was trying to evaluate if threatening the newcomer was going to do any good. For some reason this Light Yagami didn't look like the type to respond to threats. He looked like the kind of prick that would cave in out of stubbornness. Besides, Mello still wasn't certain what exactly was Light's purpose, and he had learned not to underestimate people at Whammy's House. So, it was best to hold off the fire and try to find a weak point in Light.

"No, of course you don't" Mello said, smiling again. "I was just trying to get to know you. We don't have many new people here, and if we do, they are usually too young to hold off a decent conversation. It gets quite boring here."

Light looked away and secretly sighed. Yeah, he could imagine… and he was going to have to spend a year of his life in an institution filled with children, when he was just over 19 and he could have been enjoying life… What was he thinking? There was nothing out there that truly satisfied him anyway. That's why he had gone with L – hoping to find something different.

"I am sorry to hear that," Light said finally.

"How long will you be here for," Mello asked, and Light knew that the boy was really fishing for something, but what exactly and why, he couldn't understand.

"At least for 6 months," Light said. There was no point trying to hide that. "What are you studying, Mello?" Light decided to turn the interrogation around.

"At the moment I am studying Criminal Psychology and Japanese. Maybe you can help me with the latter," Mello smiled smugly.

"Sure, no problem," Light said.

Mello's answer had made it pretty clear to Light what this was all about.

Most likely the blonde was one of the students that were aspiring to follow in L's footsteps. That way it also made sense that Mello knew L, and that he had waited in front of Light's door the previous night just to catch a glimpse of the detective.

However, what it didn't explain was the slightly malicious undercurrent, which Light was sensing in this conversation. It almost seemed as if Mello was being protective over something, or was taking Light as a threat.

Why would he be afraid if Light was another student at the institution? Unless there was actually a competition going on?

Light had to find out about that…

"Let's speak in Japanese!" Light suggested and he saw Mello's expression of utter aggravation, however the boy complied with the request.

Once they began speaking Japanese Mello was immediately out of water. He didn't know enough words and expressions to properly question Light for the why he had come and what did L want with him.

Of course, Mello was worried that Light might be a possible successor, whom L had dragged from his latest case in Japan. If L had done that, then Light was obviously favoured enough and probably, in L's opinion, better than the children at the orphanage, because if he weren't, then why would he bring him in at all?

That was obviously a big threat to Mello, since he knew he was the best, and he wasn't going to let some pretty-faced Japanese-male-model take his place…

There were also all the weird rumours going around about Light being L's boyfriend, after the incident when L and Light appeared out of a rented car, the detective dragging the latter, who had been unconscious and dressed in "close-fitting sexy clothes" as another student's account had vividly described it.

The story went on how L "sexed the other man to unconsciousness" on their way to Whammy's house and L had needed to bring him in that state "to save his life" because if the man hadn't received urgent care he "was going to die from too much sex!"

That's what Linda had said, about what she had seen out the window. Mello doubted it was little more than a girl's imagination, even though he was pretty certain that L could sex anyone to death, if he wanted to.

"And what do you study?" Mello asked in Japanese.

"I will also be studying Law," Light said, deciding there was no point in hiding it – soon everyone would know.

"Aw, same as me," Mello said, hating how he couldn't speak his mind in Japanese. "Are you… Do you have parents?"

"Yes, my family is back home," Light said.

"How old are you?"

"19, and you?"

"I am 15" Mello replied. "Are you working with L?"

"Ah, it's starting to rain again," Light switched back to English. "Should we go back?"

"Yeah, I guess," Mello said a bit sorely and they hoped off the climbing wall and hurried to the House.

…

Later that night Light was up studying. He had calculated that he needed to study until 1 am every night and get up at 7 am in the morning, if he wanted to cover all the topics in time. He was going to have 30 minutes for jogging and exercise each day, 30 minutes for each meal, 30 minutes for self-grooming and washing, and another 30 minutes for socialising. He had also calculated a 2 hr contingency for other things that might arise.

The clock was nearing 1 am, and Light wasn't going to miss out on his sleep, but his head was hurting more than usual. In fact, with cold hands he touched his forehead and he was pretty certain that he was sporting a fever. It didn't surprise him too much, given the other day's adventure in the rain…

That day… Light still hadn't gotten over it, but tried not to think of what had happened. It also seemed so long ago and different from how things were now, especially concerning L. The detective was all cold and profession now. And Light's life from before, the Yamamoto case, even the plane ride to England felt like a lifetime away. Everything had changed so fast…

It seemed like Light needed some medicine, if he didn't want his condition to get worse. Unfortunately L hadn't mentioned anything about where the medicine was kept, and Light doubted that at this time of night it was polite to contact Roger or Watari, even though they were a few doors away from him on the first floor.

Light had a feeling that L was still up, and also the man had offered himself for contact at any time, so Light decided to take him up on that.

Instead of calling with the shiny new iPhone, even though Light wanted to test the "L" function, he went up 3 flights of stairs to L's office. After all, he needed a break and wanted to move around a bit. 

The corridors were dark at that time of night, but an occasional green Exit lamp provided enough luminance for Light to find his way up to the third floor. Said floor was eerie quiet, with L being it's sole occupant. Light walked over the soft carpet of the hallway, which masked the sound of his feet quite well. L's door was wide opened as always and soft illumination from inside guided the way to it.

Once Light's eyes adjusted as he stood gently knocking on the doorframe, he noticed something weird. L was sitting in his usual crouch on one of the large couches next to the empty fireplace, holding a piece of paper in one hand while the other was resting on the seat by his feet. The hand, which was holding the paper had it's elbow rested on one of his knees, so it hang limply in front of the man, as said man's eyes were closed and mouth opened... He was asleep.

Light's eyes widened at the sight. The legendary detective must have nodded off while working. The brunette didn't think that was possible, but there it was.

Light was uncertain what to do, but decided that waking up L, so that he could ask for medicine and so that L could move to sleep on a bed was probably a good idea. So he approached quietly and gently shook L's shoulder.

L didn't wake up.

"L?" Light called softly. "L, wake up…"

L wasn't waking up. In fact he just fell over to one side on the armrest of the couch, remaining asleep.

Light felt himself losing patience and shook the man roughly.

"L! Wake up!"

L jolted awake.

"Hey, are you ok?" Light asked sweetly seeing the man's confused expression.

"Yes, I am fine!" L blurted out quickly. "Was there something Light-kun needed?"

Light sighed internally. So, L wasn't going to acknowledge that he had been awkwardly caught sleeping in his chair. Fine.

"I just wanted to know if you had any cold medicine. It seems that I might had a fever," Light said, trying to avoid the subject of what had caused said condition.

L didn't seem keen to bring it up either.

"Yes, there is some on the first floor… I better come and show you the medicine cabinet. Should have done so earlier…" L's voice trailed off as he got up and began walking towards the door.

Light followed him wordlessly but something caught his eyes. L's footing wobbled and next thing you know his knees were giving out.

L's vision suddenly darkened and the last thing he realised before he travelled down towards the floor was that he was about to collapse. He cursed himself for getting up so quickly and feeling so ill all day from the cold, which he did not have.

However, instead of the pain he expected to explode as he hit the ground first, he felt something else. Light had caught him mid-air and was pulling him up to himself.

L's vision cleared up on cue and he jumped out of the younger man's hands.

"Are you ok?" Light actually sounded worried now as he stared warily at L.

"Yes, I assure you, I am fine," L said, realising that they had just had that conversation. "Please follow me," L hurried out the door, still feeling very sick. He should have taken the medicine when Watari had suggested…

…

Finally downstairs at the medicine cabinet, L gave Light some pills that were suitable for a common cold.

"Won't you take any?" Light asked.

"No, I'm good," L said.

"You have a fever too," Light said and he abruptly put his hand on L's forehead, feeling what he knew he would – the man was burning up. "You really should take some medication. You collapsed a minute ago and you were sleeping in your chair. I think you are ill."

"I cat-nap all the time," L said. "It's a technique to rest without sleeping."

"So you nap at 1 am? When do you sleep?" Light asked.

"I am an insomniac. I almost never sleep," L said.

Light stared at him and L stared back with those huge, sleep-deprived eyes. 

'Well, that explains some things,' Light thought. But an insomniac, almost never sleeping… that sounded a bit too much, even for L.

"Just take some meds," Light said, closing the cabinet.

"No, I'm alright," L responded. In the artificial overhead light of the storage room, the dark circles underneath his eyes looked even darker and more pronounced than usual and he looked painfully thin and colourless. His skin had an unhealthy yellowish tint in that light, and it made Light worry about this man. It seemed that he wasn't just strange – there was something wrong with him...

L, on the other hand had no intention to appear weak in front of Light. He wasn't going to show how bad he felt by taking medicine, at least not when the brunette could see him. Maybe later, he was going to venture downstairs to take some medicine.

"Fine," Light said and turned away. He was slightly aggravated about the way L was behaving, refusing to take medicine when he clearly had a high fever, but the younger man wasn't going to nurse the detective.

He began walking away.

"Goodnight, Light-kun," L called behind him.

"Goodnight."

…

L went upstairs after deciding that he indeed felt fine and didn't need pills. He felt slightly bitter about Light's behaviour that day. Light hadn't been very nice or polite to him, and L hadn't seen him since the morning, because the brunette hadn't needed him for anything.

But L supposed he had no right to get so possessive. He couldn't expect Light to seek him out all the time, or spend all his time with him. Besides, L had never cared that much if people were impolite or didn't pay attention to him. Perhaps, he had been hoping that Light would be different. Yet another reason why hope was a stupid emotion that only ruined things in the end.

Well, what had just happened had eased a bit L's mind. He was kind of happy that Light had came to him for the medicine, even if he had nearly lost face by collapsing in front of him.

However, Light had caught him. That had been so nice and sweet of him, and at the same time strangely symbolic. Perhaps their relationship was going to work out after all. Light didn't sound like it, but his actions had shown that he actually cared enough to catch L before he hit the ground.

That thought made the detective unusually happy. It seemed as if Light was getting dangerously close to his heart. L knew that the appropriate response was to create some distance and prevent things from developing into something strange. He was already a bit smitten by Light's looks, and if Light started acting all nice to him, as unlikely as it seemed at that moment, then L wasn't certain how he was going to handle it. 

It was probably better if Light remained his teasing, cold self. That way L wouldn't be faced with a predicament.

The detective almost slapped himself on the forehead. Those useless thoughts – why was he thinking about Light again? He had hardly gotten any work done that day, thinking of Light and how things were going to turn out with his training and their stay at Whammy's, (waiting for Light to come by...) Good thing that L could blame it on the horrible headache he had, and the general state of illness he felt.

Finally on his own floor, L sat back on his chair and tried to read what he had left off earlier. About half an hour passed before he heard soft, carpet-cushioned footsteps in the corridor. He stopped, alert and somewhat tense. Who could it be at 2 am?

Light appeared on the doorway. He was dressed in a striped pyjama bottom and an unbuttoned white shirt, which he must have thrown on top, just for the sake of coming upstairs.

L's jaw became unclenched but he managed to seal it tightly before Light saw.

"Hey, Ryuzaki," Light switched back to the name that he had used in Japan during the Yamamoto case. He hoped that it would bring some more familiarity in their exchange and the stubborn detective might actually listen to him.

"I brought you some medicine… You won't refuse me, since I brought it all the way up, would you?"

L stared completely dumbfounded. As if he could ever refuse Light Yagami something... 

Not only had he showed up almost almost-naked at his door at 2 am, looking like an angel with caramel hair, catching golden reflections from the night lamp, toned muscles shifting subtly underneath his smooth tanned skin, and bare feet stepping on the parquet of L's office… but he had also decided to be sweet and caring and had brought L some medication!

It just wasn't fair.

L's stomach did those unpleasant little flips it liked to do when Light managed to stun him yet again, and he steadied himself before replying.

"Is this because Light-kun is an older child and he can't help but worry?" L asked.

"I think you nailed it," Light smiled slightly.

Light had stayed awake, tossing and turning, thinking of all the ways in which L could collapse from fever, hit his head, die and so on. So, as soon as the medicine had kicked in and the brunette had felt better, he had decided to make the detective take some, for the sake of relaxing and getting some sleep.

"And there is also the fact that you are acting like a baby," he added teasingly.

"I am really feeling quite alright, but if Light-kun has went through the trouble of brining medicine up here for me, then the least I can do, is ease his mind and take the pills," L said.

He got up from his chair, carefully. His legs were trembling, but this time the cause had nothing to do with illness.

Light was still standing at the door, unwittingly torturing the detective. The walk to him felt like a track through the desert without water. But finally, L managed to reach him.

L's fingers brushed Light's palm as he took the pills, causing shivers to run down the dark-haired man's spine. Needless to say, swallowing the water, which Light handed him next was extremely difficult through the tightness of L's throat, so he choked a bit. At least it didn't look suspicious, since he was swallowing big pills - could blame it on that.

"Thank you, Light-kun," L said, unconsciously leaning towards Light's face.

Light smiled and leaned back a tiny bit.

"You are welcome," he said and then he put a hand on L's back, making the detective tremble just a bit, and hope Light hadn't noticed. "Come now, you still don't look very steady to me."

L couldn't protest, in fact he couldn't say anything at all. He felt Light's hand on his spine, the other one on his upper arm, and he just went to wherever Light wanted to take him. Currently that location was the chair.

"Maybe you should go to bed," Light said.

"I guess you are right," L found himself saying. "I might function better tomorrow, if I get some decent sleep, and those pills will sedate me a bit, won't they?"

"Indeed," Light said. L was strangely cooperative all of a sudden. "Where is your bedroom?"

"In there," L said, showing Light and allowing him to guide him through the adjunct door of the office into a cold, dark and stuffy room.

"How long have you not been in here?" Light asked. "We have to open the window for a bit."

He walked L to the bed until the detective sat on it, and then he walked over to the windows and opened them wide.

"Lie down, I will let the air change and then close the windows," Light said.

L obediently tucked himself under the covers and watched Light's back as the Japanese man pulled the curtains and opened the windows. The light from outside went through Light's white shirt, outlining the young man's toned body, and creating highlights here and there. The breeze lifted the light material and flapped around Light as he adjusted the window.

L couldn't believe his luck. He had never expected to see someone so gorgeous in real life, least of all in his bedroom. He just couldn't believe this was his life. Suddenly he didn't feel sick at all. He felt very warm, but it felt like a very different kind of heat. And perhaps because he was a bit out of it, strange ideas and words started forming on the tip of his tongue.

Perhaps he could invite Light to join him. It was going to be completely innocent – the bed was wide enough for two people to sleep without touching each other. Surely Light didn't feel like going down three flights of stairs to his own room. For just one night, Light could sleep over. It wasn't that strange of an offer, was it? Was it?

Of course it was. It was incredibly ridiculous and had no chance of success, even if he tried playing on Light's sympathy for his sickness.

"I think this is enough," Light said in a few minutes and closed the window.

He walked over to the bed and looked down at L. His face was so breathtakingly beautiful that in an instant, L was going to break and say something that he knew he would regret, however Light spoke first.

"L, I meant to ask you something," Light said softly and he sat down on L's bed.

"What is it?" L answered just as quietly. His heart was beating furiously in a rush of unexplainable hope…

"Is there some sort of competition going on between the students here?" Light said ruining the magic and completely breaking L's hopes in the rudest of ways.

That topic…

"Yes, there is. I am not so surprised that you found out about it, however I am impressed that it was so soon," L said, wishing he could say something else, wishing that they were talking about something completely different.

Light smiled smugly. He still looked breathtaking and L bit the inside of his lip. It was hard not to notice how beautiful Light's eyes were, how dark they looked at night. L was surely going to drawn if he kept looking at them.

"I think Mello is getting jealous of me already," he said. "Can you tell me a bit more about this competition?"

"Maybe it's best if we discuss this tomorrow," L said, closing his eyes and turning his face away. He couldn't bear to look at Light anymore. His self-control was wearing really thin. All he wanted was to touch Light, to beg him to stay, to say something completely senseless…

"Yes, it's true. I'm pretty tired as well. Well, I'll come tomorrow," Light said and got up.

"Sleep well," Light wished as he turned around and walked out.

"You too," L breathed as Light closed the door, but it was too quiet and too late and he knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who have read the original in FF.net probably notice that I have re-edited and changed some tiny bits, but I promise, it's all for the best :) As always, I hope you are enjoying the story. A new chapter is coming after I finish posting all the old ones.


	15. The Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the disappearance - been busy. Here is another chapter!

On the next very medicated morning, L justified his previous night's thoughts and behaviour with high fever and brain malfunctioning. He wasn't at all in the mood when Light showed up at his office with a mug of coffee and a copy of the day's newspaper.

"Can I come in," Light asked politely in English.

"Please, do," L responded in the same language and swivelled around in his large chair. He turned around a few times, grabbing a sugar cube each time his hand reached the desk, crushed and swallowed it by the time he had turned to the other side.

Light was starting to get used to pretending he wasn't bothered by such behaviour and just sipped his coffee.

"Have you read the paper?" Light asked, putting the copy on L's desk.

"Yes," L said, stopping his chair and motioning to a tray, which was covered in newspapers from around the world. "I read them all already."

Light glanced and could make out The Guardian, New York Times, China People's Daily, New Zealand Herald and many more underneath… He tried not to show he was impressed and embarrassed for asking.

"Does Light-kun want a similar batch delivered to him each morning? I can arrange that, even though for the moment he doesn't need to spend so much time looking over the news of the world. Focusing only on the European Union would probably be best, if he just wants to sate his interests."

Light looked at L, who was peaking at him through his black locks, while sitting in his usual crouch on the chair.

"Yeah, I see your point – I should probably be studying, instead of reading the news, which are irrelevant for my activities at the moment."

"I didn't say that. You can have all the information you want. Don't be shy to request anything you need."

"About that…" Light was uncertain if he wanted to bring up that topic so soon, but there was a good opening, so he could ask without sounding like too much of a whiny. "I realized yesterday, that I might be a bit ill-equipped in terms of seasonal clothes for England. I went out in my jacket and felt cold. Do you think I can be shown to some shops, so I could buy some stuff?"

"Certainly," L said. "I'll handle this. Anything else?"

"What sort of clothing would you recommend for this weather," Light asked.

"I am probably not the right person to ask about that," L gave him a look. It made Light feel stupid. "Ask Watari or Roger. And don't be shy, they are probably wondering when you would ask for these things."

"Finally, I wanted to talk about our conversation from yesterday…"

"Yes, there is a competition going on between the students' who aspire to become detectives. The best one will get to inherit my title when I die," L blurted out. "Anything else?"

"I guess not..."

…

Light went back downstairs. He considered beginning his day with a jog around the grounds, since he wanted to clear his mind for studying. However, outside a slow, drizzly type of rain was falling. The ground was wet and muddy, with puddles everywhere and the sky was so cloudy that everything looked cold and dark, despite it was 9am on an late spring morning.

The Japanese man opened the window for a bit and a freezing, humid breeze entered his room. Outside was no more than 10 degrees Celsius. Light touched the central heating and found that it was off. He was going to freeze to death!

He forced himself to endure it, because fresh air was necessary.

In the middle of this predicament there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Light called and turned around to see the old face of L's right-hand man appear at his door.

"Good morning, Light. How are you today," Watari said in English with a polite nod.

"Good morning. I am good. How are you?"

"Not too bad."

'Not too bad?' Light wasn't certain he understood the expression.

"L told me that you would need a change of clothes for the English weather. I am here to recommend a few online shops that you can buy from and to advice you on the type of items you would need," Watari explained while producing a Visa Debit card and handing it to Light.

"L has put money on this card, which you can spend in the selected stores, which you will find listed here," Watari handed him a sheet of paper with brands and websites. "The reason why we can't have you choose freely is that we have established a certain level of trust with them. Also, they ship very discreetly to us."

The talk was very polite, but Light quickly got the underlying meaning. He was going to be allowed freedom in certain boundaries, in terms of everything he did while inside Whammy's House. However, they did not trust him, so they were watching him closely, most likely even remotely monitoring his activity on the laptop and iPhone he had been given.

Needless to say, his old phone had disappeared when he had woken up from his alcohol-induced slumber after his arrival at Whammy's. It was being "stored" for him. Speaking of which…

"When will I get back my ID and Passport?" Light asked.

"When L sees it necessary," Watari said. Seeing the look on Light's face he added. "You won't be needing them here, and you are being issued a new ID for Britain."

"You are giving me a fake identity?" Light asked.

"Your identity will be valid and issued by the British government. It will just be a different ID than the one you were born with."

"Do I get to choose my new name?"

"I'm afraid it has already been chosen for you."

Light tried to suppress the uneasiness he felt because of the whole situation. He had expected something like that, but wasn't this going a bit out of hand? His ID was taken; the Queen of England herself was issuing him a fake ID for Britain; he hadn't been notified about any of that… Well, the contract had mentioned a "temporary id" but…

He knew L and his people were powerful and shredded in absolute secrecy but perhaps he hadn't expected to be dragged into that fake world so soon. Perhaps L really was serious about him, if he was going through all of the trouble. Or he was just very paranoid.

"Has L taken any other hopefuls to work with him before?" Light asked.

"No," Watari smiled a grandfatherly smile, which by now Light doubted as well. "You are the first one, that he has taken interest in."

"I am honoured," Light said with a bow.

"Should we discuss your attire?" Watari suggested and the two men sat down together for an online shopping session.

…

From all the brands, Light had ended up liking Topman the most, and had ended up ordering pretty much everything he needed from there. Some of the other brands felt a bit too "high-street" for him or too formal and impractical for the sort of life he'd be leading as a student and partner at Whammy's House.

He had chosen a grey summer suit, a burgundy scoop neck tee, a pair of skinny chinos, a contrast Oxford shirt, a few low-cut cardigans and a quilted jacket. Watari had advised him to think of layering since the weather in Winchester was so unpredictable that being able to shed a layer or put one on was a good idea.

Light immediately loved the efeminine London fashion and couldn't wait to see how those deep-cut necklines and close fitting pants would look on him. Watari had advised him to also buy some accessories and shoes. Light had tried to humbly refuse, since he had already shopped for more than enough, but the older man had insisted. So Light had also acquired an umbrella, a scarf, sportswear, and three sets of shoes – sports, smart and casual.

By the time they were done, Light's entire wardrobe had changed. Light felt a lump in his throat when he calculated how much they had spent in just over an hour of online shopping, but L's Visa Debit card seemed literally bottomless.

"You can see how those work out, and then you can purchase some more items if you need to," Watari said as he was taking his leave.

"Thank you," Light said, feeling overwhelmed. "Oh, and when can I expect the deliveries, you think?"

"This afternoon probably," Watari said. "Depends on the weather."

…

Later that day the packages arrived all together with a car and a courier who no doubt had been assigned to visit the remote location just for Light's sake.

Light saw it happening from his window, which viewed the front of the estate. Someone signed for him and very soon the packages were in a trolley in front of Light's door. The young man accepted it and pushed it inside, getting knowing gazes from the kids in the corridor. Even if L had never had another "hopeful" at Whammy's, these kids were smart enough to always know what was going on.

Light hurried to close the door. He wondered what these orphaned children made of him. Mello had been pretty obvious the night before when he had tried to question him after dinner. He was weary and sort of jealous. He also thought it was unfair that Light was there.

The other children probably shared the sentiment at least to a certain extend. Light didn't really care. He had always been isolated because of his superior intelligence and other people's inability to understand him. Here people did understand him, but they found something else to marginalize him for – the fact that his fate was different and he had a different status than them.

Light pushed the thoughts aside as he unpacked his clothing. He was immediately delighted. He began trying stuff on, and was extremely satisfied with the fits and colours. He smiled at what he could see of himself in the mirror, which was incorporated on the inside of his cupboard's door.

He was just trying on the grey summer suit with the burgundy tight-fitting scoop neck T-shirt. He rolled up the suit's lightweight sleeves and admired how his defined clavicles were showing because of the low neckline of the tee. He looked like the models from the site's lookbook. No, he looked better.

In the middle of his self-admiration session a knock on the door disturbed him.

His room was a mess with all the packages and he didn't really want to have a visitor at that moment. But a more urgent knock on the door followed, so Light walked over to the door and creaked it opened.

It was L.

"Can I come in?" L asked.

Light caught glimpses of young children accumulating to stare at the detective.

"Ah…" Light really didn't feel like being interrupted and his room was a mess, but he sympathized with the other man. They did share something in their situation after all... "It's a mess, but come in…"

He closed the door after the detective.

"I'm sorry, I just received all the packages. Thank you for your generosity, by the way," Light smiled and ran a hand through his hair.

L looked around.

"Will this be enough?" the black-haired man asked. "I can put more money in the card if you need."

"No, it's quite alright, thanks! In fact, we didn't spend all the money."

"You didn't? Why?" L looked at him while bitting his nail.

"It's good enough for now, thank you," Light assured him again.

He walked through the room filled with package wrappings, clearing up as he went.

"That suit suits you very well," L said still bitting his thumb.

Light's smile was truly sincere when he straightened up and turned around showing off. L nodded in appreciation, trying really hard to push aside how Light made him feel when he was dressed in a suit.

However, it was also very pleasant to know that he had made Light happy. It made L want to smile, but he held back.

"I heard that you ordered also some sports gear…" L began uncomfortably. "I was wondering if you would like to test it."

"Yes, definitely. What do you have in mind?"

…

The two walked outside in the slight rain. It was 4 pm and the sky was so overcast that it was quite gloomy. The temperature was 12 degrees and the ground was covered in puddles.

However, despite the cold, Light felt energized and excited to be wearing great new sportswear and shoes, and to be holding a tennis racket again. He had quit tennis when he had entered high school, because his parents had thought he needed to concentrate harder on his studies. At the time, he had known that he didn't need to concentrate any harder, but he had complied because… he had always been a good son.

"I warn you, I am pretty good at this game," Light said as they walked to another part of the grounds, which had a football and a tennis court.

"Don't worry, Light-kun. I was the English Junior Champion once," L responded as he walked beside Light in his slouching manner.

Light didn't think L stood a chance, because even if what he had said was true, he looked very out of shape at present.

"How did you know I play tennis anyway?" Light asked.

"Ah, you mentioned it," L said.

"When?" Light raised an eyebrow.

"That time when we were stuck in the rain on our ride here," L said, his face expressionless.

"I remember talking about a lot of things, but I don't remember saying that," Light argued.

L stared at him for a long moment.

"You were pretty gone, Light-kun," he said finally.

"I wasn't that gone!" Light got angry. He hadn't been THAT drunk! What was L implying. "I bet you are just trying to hide the fact that you've read all my records. Isn't that so, Ryuuzaki?"

"Maybe," L said cryptically. "Here we are. Good luck, Yagami-kun."

They shook hands and then separated to assume their positions on the court.

L served first and Light was so deep in thought of how L was always trying to outrageously lie to him, that he almost got hit in the face by the ball, which swooshed right by his head with shocking speed.

Light looked around confused.

"This was just so that you don't underestimate me, Light-kun. Now, shall we continue?"

As surprised as Light was by this sudden new development, he supposed that it made sense. L wasn't the type to challenge him to a game, which he couldn't play well. It had been silly to underestimate him, despite his appearance.

"My mistake, L," Light said smiling. "Let's fix that…"

…

The two were quite evenly matched. They played for an exhausting hour and a half, during which a whole crowd of the occupants of Whammy's House had gathered around the court to watch the furious encounter.

Light and L ran around the court, threw themselves with all they had and managed to return each other's blows with stunning skill and accuracy. It looked almost as if they could predict where each ball would go, and it was just a question of physical ability in terms of who could hit harder, and who could run faster.

Towards the end they were both absolutely exhausted and Light slipped on the wet grass as he recklessly flung his entire body forward to return the ball. He ended up sliding and falling in a puddle, muddying his brand new shorts. L ran to catch the ball but he had lost a moment, during which he had believed that Light could never save that one. Unfortunately Light had surprised him and the dark-haired man didn't manage to reach the returning ball in time and it was…

"5-4 for Light!" Roger announced.

"One more," Light whispered to himself as he got up with difficulty from the cold dampness underneath him. He had to win the game! The whole House was watching them now. It was a question of honour, of pride. He couldn't let skinny-old-Ryuzaki beat him! He had the advantage finally – he had to score one more time and win the match.

His muscles were screaming for a break, and his head was getting a bit dizzy from the exertion. He tried to stabilize his rapid breathing. They were both tired and could make mistakes, but he needed just one more chance and he would win.

L was panting on the other side, his hot breath forming a mist in the humid air around him. His usual white shirt was clinging to his body from the rain and the sweat. Light could see defined muscles of his neck twitch, and underneath the semi-transparent material of his shirt he could make out the stony muscles of a set of wiry arms. L's black hair was clinging to his cheekbones and neck, damp as the rest of him. His black eyes were narrowed and relentlessly focused on Light, while the brunette's vision seemed to be falling in and out of focus from exhaustion.

L looked resolved to beat him. He looked like a real menace now. Nothing like his usual slack self. Perhaps that was what he really was like, underneath all the facades. It was funny - to think that Light had actually believed that L was a feeble, meek man. It didn't make any logical sense but the black-haired guy was so good at the game of deception. He had hid who and what he really was, because it gave him the advantage of being underestimated. Now Light could see the strategy in that.

The final ball was played and both L and Light ran for it like mad, until finally as if the gods were on Light's side - L slipped on the wet ground just as he was hitting the ball back at Light. The ball flew in an uncontrolled direction and out of the court, while L rolled on the grass, propelled by the inertia of his fall.

"6-4 for Light! Light wins!" Roger announced.

L looked up from his position on his elbows and knees on the ground. As the round of cheers and applause marked the end of the game and his failure he let his face hang down and hissed in childish frustration over having lost.

Meanwhile Light jumped up and threw his rocket high in the air while shouting a "Yes!". He smiled widely and shook his right hand in the air, while being applaud.

L got up, steeled his expression and walked over to shake Light's hand, trying not to limp despite the searing pain in his right side. He had fallen quite badly but he wasn't going to show it. He wiped the mud from his face before he grabbed Light's hand and shook it firmly.

Light also wiped his stained by mud drips face as he responded to the handshake. His brown eyes fixed on L's as he held his opponent's hand for a second longer.

"Good game, L," breathed Light, squeezing L's hand. He was still quite aired and his face was flushed from exertion.

"Next time," L responded under his heavy breathing, squeezing back before they broke apart.

…

They dragged themselves to the shed where Watari had suggested they showered and changed, so that they didn't bring any mud to the house.

The one storey shed looked like a long wooden house and inside it had rolls of old-style lockers, benches and showers on the far end. Solid concrete walls covered in bright blue tiles separated the showers from each other. It all looked as if it had been pulled out of an old English film to Light, with the exception of the shower curtains added to each cubicle, which seemed like a modern addition.

A roll of wooden lockers separated L and Light as they removed their clothes.

"You can leave your dirty clothes and shoes in the bin by the door," L called from the other side. "Someone will collect and clean them. They will be ready by tomorrow."

"Are you up to playing again tomorrow?" Light shouted back as he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked over to the rolls of shower cubicles.

"Certainly," L responded.

He heard L's bare feet slapping on the concrete floor behind him as the man walked to the showers as well.

Light pushed aside the shower curtain and went in closing it behind him. He could hear the rain drum on the wooden roof above them, and his body was already becoming chilly from the cold, so he couldn't wait to turn on the hot water.

He removed his towel and hanged it on a provided hanger inside. Everything was so different than how was used to it back in Japan. He heard the sound of L turning on the water in the cubicle right next to his. The wall, which separated them, did not go all the way to the ceiling, however, it was high enough so Light couldn't look over it even if he was on his tiptoes.

"So, is tomorrow good?" L called over the loud sound of the water of both showers.

"Yes!" Light shouted.

Then they both fell silent as they washed themselves. The hot water felt so good on Light's skin, it made him shiver. As he rubbed the shampoo over his head and body Light's thoughts drifted back to the match. He was quite worked up from the exercise and the victory. It had been so exhilarating to play against L – they were evenly matched. Light had never played against anyone like that. It had felt good, and the best part was that he had won in the end. Well, Light knew that it had been mostly luck, but it didn't matter. He had won.

The crowd, which had gathered to watch them had cheered for Light in the end. Perhaps it wasn't because they liked him, but because they had loved the show and they would have cheered for L just as much. But it didn't matter. Light had beat L in front of his own people and he wanted to rub it on L a bit more before their next match.

The water was too loud to say anything in that moment, but Light's mind produced L, in his clingy white shirt and his glaring black eyes. Light smiled widely at those thoughts.

'Did you like how I won, L?' he imagined saying to the detective's face. He imagined the sore look in those unlikely black eyes, those pale lips pressing tightly together as the man had to swallow his pride and admit defeat. 'Did you think you could beat me at this? You should have known I was better. I will always be better…'

Light closed his eyes and dumped his head under the water current to wash the shampoo.   
..

The next few days they didn't get to play again, since the tennis court was fully booked, as tennis had become the new cool at Whammy's Houses. The children were now eager to become good at the sport and to "serve like L" or "backhand like Light" and so on.

The dark-haired detective spent his time on the third floor, working hard on a new case, which he had picked up the night after the game.

A teenage boy had gone missing in Hackney, a London neighbourhood with a sort of bad reputation for having lots of gangs, drugs and trashy music.

The reason why this disappearance was interesting was that it had been a month and the boy had not yet been found chopped up in the canal as victims usually did in that particular area of London. There were no leads whatsoever, so it wasn't that as bad of a case, even though it didn't involve at least 10 people dead or injured, as was L's general rule of thumb.

Meanwhile Light was switching into gear with his new study routine. He had to get used to sleeping 6 hours a night and the change was wearing him out, however he was determined to persevere. He spent the largest part of his time in his room, but he made sure to change study locations for the purpose of refreshing his mind. So he studied also in the large activity hall, the Old Library and sometimes even took his books outside.

The weather improved greatly after the night of the tennis match, and miraculously both L and Light's colds were cured after the heated affair.

"Exercise can cure the most persistent of colds," Watari had said with his trademark grandpa smile. "It raises body temperature and kills off germs."

Either way, Light really liked the English weather once the sun decided to manifest itself. A week of sunny days was a real treat and Light made sure to get out as much as possible. He also got to wear his great new summer suit and loved strutting around the grounds in it. It was a real shame that he didn't get to go somewhere where people would actually see and admire him. He was allowed only in the grounds, which was exasperating, no matter how huge the estate was.

Light was used to the fast-pace, overcrowded and ever-changing Tokyo, so this country life really wasn't for him. He missed walking the busy streets, he missed the crowds of people, the cars, the noise, and he even missed the pollution. The air around Whammy's house was so clean that it was starting to annoy him.

Returning from his daily walk, Light went to the kitchen to grab an apple to snack before continuing his studies. It was early afternoon and at that time most students had classes, so he didn't expect to find anyone about.

However, to his surprise, playing on the kitchen floor, dressed in all white was that odd kid again – Near. Light tried not to stare at the way the boy (yes, the boy) was lying on his front in the middle of the room, playing with toy robots.

"Zuuum-zuuuum…" Near made the sound effects of his game as the robots "flew" in circles around his head as they chased each other.

Light ignored him and walked over to one of the large refrigerators. The fruits were kept inside to last longer.

"Piu-piu! Piu-piu! You are going dooooooown…" Near kept making noises as the robots shot their laser eyes at each other.

Light cringed. Near seemed mentally challenged and socially stunned to him. He wondered why he was at Whammy's institution at all.

"Why aren't you in class, Near?" Light asked from behind the counter as he bit into an apple.

The twelve-year old didn't appear to hear him. He kept playing with his toys.

"No, you are going down! I am THE best! Paw-paw-paw..." Near kept playing.

Light shrugged and began walking away.

"I don't have classes today," Near addressed him suddenly.

Light stopped. Slowly he turned his head and looked over his shoulder with a bored expression.

"Nor any other day actually," Near continued. He didn't look up from his toys. "I am following my own program, the same as you are. I have already completed the Oxford Masters of Law, which you will pursue this year, Light."

Light lifted an eyebrow in irritation and disbelief.

"In fact, I will be the one to succeed L," Near finally lifted his eyes to return Light's gaze. The boy's eyes were an empty, piercing black, just like L's, but even scarier and more unnerving on such a young face. They gave Light the shivers.

With a sudden movement Near crashed the two robots together. Their heads flew off and rolled on the ground in two different directions.

Near just sat there as still as a statue.

"Aw really," Light said condescendingly.

Near just smiled a small, creepy smile.

The nerve! It was almost as if that boy was trying to fuck with Light! Well, Light wasn't the type to ignore challenges, so in stead of leaving and completely forgetting about the little albino maggot's annoying existence, he smiled indulgently and walked back to sit on a chair close to Near.

"Do you want to become a detective when you grow up?" Light asked, purposefully demeaning the twelve-year old.

"I already am a detective," Near stated, looking down at his now decapitated robots. "I'm not working on cases yet, but I do a very good job at detecting people and their intentions."

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"I can see right through you, Light. And through L," Near said. "It's quite obvious to me why he has brought you here, but it seems that you are left a bit out of the loop, aren't you, Light? Well, I guess that already makes me better than you."

"Do you think I'm here to compete for L's title?" Light asked.

Near didn't reply. He just smiled in that impish way again.

"Don't worry, Near. I don't have such an ambition. I am not here to compete with any of you. You can have the title all to yourself when you are old enough. Until then, why don't you focus on completing a few more Master's programs?" Light said in mock-reassurance. In reality he enjoyed patronising the smart-ass kid, who apparently had a higher level of education to 19-year-old Light Yagami.

"You really are stupid," Near said.

Light's eyes momentarily narrowed but he straightened his expression immediately to a mask of harmless exasperation. He made a show of rolling his eyes and sighing.

"As you say," Light said. "Listen, I'd love to stay here and chat, but I do have a lot of study to do. See you."

With a smug smile, Light got up, towering over the small white figure on the floor.

Near just picked up his robots and continued to play, without their heads.

"So, what should we do now, L?" Near voiced one of the robots.

Lights eyes widened as he listened without stopping or turning.

"I don't know, Light. Maybe we should retrieve our heads…"


	16. A Hacking Emergency

"FUCK!"

A sudden yell stirred Mello, who hadn't been quite asleep, but pleasantly musing in the wee hours of the night.

"FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck... Shit, shit shit..."

"Matt, what's up?" the Mello perched on the upper bunk bed and looked down at his red-haired friend.

It was a regular sight to see Matt on the floor with his back resting on the bed and his laptop between his crossed legs in the middle of the night. However, he rarely disturbed Mello by cursing so loud. When Matt lost to a boss, he hissed his cusses, didn't shout…

"They traced me back!" Matt screamed in a state of shock and utter despair, tearing at his hair from anxiety.

"Who did?" Mello demanded.

Matt was already pulling on his favourite pair of jeans, which hadn't been washed in god-knows-how-long, and putting on a jean vest over his t-shirt.

"Matt! Answer me, man…"

"The fucking ЦРУ!" Matt looked up at Mello. He looked so adorable with his green eyes wide in fear like that.

"The Russian CIA? I thought you were undetectable," Mello teased.

"I am! I don't know what happened! I think I went in too deep this time..." Matt grabbed his Alienware laptop under his arm and headed towards the door.

"Are you going to him?" Mello asked, brilliant blue eyes wide with sudden interest.

"Come if you like, but this is serious shit, Mells…" Matt said hurriedly as he rushed out of their room.

"Of course I'm coming! You can't do jackshit on your own," Matt heard Mello call after him and the thud on the floor, which signalled that his blonde friend had jumped off the bed.

Matt was running up the stairs already but Mello sprinted to catch up with him and the duo's feet thundered on the wooden staircase in unison as they went up to L's floor.

"Hell, we're going to L!" Mello shook his fists in excitement.

"Mells, seriously, why are you so excited about this, I'm in real deep shit right now…"

L could already hear the duo's conversation as they quite noisily made their way to his office at 3:40 am. The two teenagers were supposed to be asleep like good children, as technically none of the kids were allowed to go out of their rooms after 23:30 pm without special permission. However, Mello and Matt had never been the type to care about rules, and it sounded as if something had gone horribly wrong.

"After all I might get kicked out or be completely crucified because of this," Matt finished his thought and bolted in front of L's wide-opened door.

L was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest on his large leather chair behind his massive, paper-covered desk. He just tilted his head to the side.

"Ermmm," Matt hesitated, face-in-face with the intimidating black-eyed man. How was he supposed to approach the matter, which unfortunately was almost entirely his fault? Surely something or someone else could be blamed…

"Is this about your hacking?" L asked unceremoniously.

"Yeah…" Matt said, cringing and nervously running his free hand through his dark-red hair.

L got up so suddenly that both Matt and Mello jumped.

"Come with me," L commanded as he moved with surprising speed, crossed the distance through the room and was brushing past Matt and Mello before the two had the time to get over their surprise.

Mello stared with huge blue eyes after L's back, as his idol had just walked right next to him!

"And leave that junk," L's eyes were narrowed as he shot Matt a look.

"Junk?" the red-head teenager looked down at his Alienware computer, which he was hugging close to his heart.

"You will need both your hands for what we have to do," L said as he was already descending the stairs. "In the very least," he added under his breath in irritation.

Matt and Mello looked at each other without having moved an inch yet.

"I said come with me and leave it!" L's raised his voice from the second floor and without a second thought Matt put his laptop on the floor by L's door and the duo ran on the command of the infamous detective.

…

The next morning Light woke up, stretched and turned on his laptop as he headed to his ensuite bathroom. To his surprise, after his morning grooming ritual was done, when he stirred the mouse of his laptop he found out that he wasn't logged onto the Internet.

Light's eyes narrowed.

…

Half an hour later, Light had tried every trick he knew. It was as if someone had manually blocked him out with an encryption. Frustrated the brunette wondered if this was a test for his hacking abilities. If it indeed was a test, then he was going to pass it.

As only Light Yagami could.

…

"We left only the school-computers in the workrooms online," L explained to Whammy and Roger.

Matt and Mello were sitting with their heads bowed in Roger's office as L explained what had happened the night before.

Outside the birds were chirping and it was a sunny and warm English morning. However the pair were summoned to Roger's beautiful office with its large windows that overlooked the guarden to get scolded.

They had both assisted L in pulling down the internet connection and making some "adjustments" before getting it back on. It had taken over 4 hours to do the entire thing, and Matt was exhausted from all the code typing he had needed to do in order to fix his error.

"Matt's hacking signal would appear as a bounced off signal from a house in Edinburg where I've sent an agent to arrange the scene as if someone had lived there for a few weeks and left when realizing that he was being traced back."

"So agents from the Russian CIA are going to come here to investigate our institution and find that our innocent internet connection was used as proxy by an unknown hacker in Scotland?" Whammy confirmed.

"Exactly," L said.

"So you took them to the server room?" Roger said.

"Yeah, please reset the passwords to the entrance," L said offhandedly.

"Do these two deserve detention?" Roger asked.

L tilted his head slightly to take a look at the two teenagers, who were trying their best to look exhausted and remorseful. They were the first, but definitely not the second. However, L believed that children should be allowed to experience and learn from their mistakes.

"Technically it's not my fault," Mello chimed in.

"Quiet," Roger commanded and Mello shut up, giving him a rebellious look before staring down at his feet again.

"No, I think they did enough by fixing the problem with me last night," L said.

Mello looked up with shiny eyes and a disbelieving grin. L turned away from his possible successor (greatest fan).

"However, I think Matt should take better care next time. He can't expect to hack into secret services, especially ones as big as Russia's and think their defences would be weak."

"But I hacked into UK's CIA no problem!" Matt protested.

"I don't think they have learned anything," Roger said.

"Detention won't help them learn either," L said.

"L is right. Let them continue with their studies, it's best that they don't waste time grounded in their rooms," Whammy agreed.

"Ok, run off you two then, we still have other things to discuss," Roger said.

Matt and Mello got up and shuffled out of the room.

"So you will need to leave the building," Roger turned to L and Whammy.

"Yes, I'll begin packing right now," Whammy said.

"We would be taking Yagami with us," L said.

Two sets of eyes locked on him. L decided that he didn't need to explain himself.

"Please arrange it," he said as he moved towards the door and headed to his office.

…

Meanwhile Light had logged into the server, and to his wild surprise he found out that it was not just one server. He couldn't quite figure out how many there were, because they were vertically connected and he had trouble finding out how many were above him, and how many on each side. He only knew that there were 32 beneath his, which were directly connected to his. There must have been more, but Light was having trouble believing it. It had to be some sort of a trick, some proxy system...

And he also found out, that on the lowest level, the workstations in the library were connected to the internet. However other student's computers, such as his own were disconnected and from the level of the first Internet server, they didn't appear to exist.

Whoever had created this network had done a pretty good job at perplexing, however Light wasn't going to give up. He'd crack it and reconnect everybody in no time!

...

"I didn't see that Japanese guy today," Mello commented as he chewed on his chocolate. It was late afternoon and dinner was due soon.

Matt didn't appear to hear him. He had been sitting with his Alienware laptop all day, playing games and trying to amuse himself without the Internet. However, now he just sat and stared blankly at the screen, which had gone black.

"Are you listening to me?" Mello demanded.

"It feels empty," Matt said to no one in particular. "It's almost as its soul has gone…"

"The hell are you saying, Mattie?" Mello rolled his eyes.

"Without the Internet I mean…" Matt said. "It's like the soul of the computer. Have you ever thought about that? How online gaming and …"

Now Mello wasn't listening anymore. Matt's voice turned into some background noise as the blonde chewed his chocolate in contemplation.

He had a pretty rough day even without Matt's complains. They had barely gotten any sleep since the previous night.

At first Mello hadn't slept because he had been drifting off to thoughts of all he could do if he ever decided to become a mafia leader, and then Matt had brutally pulled him away from his fantasies of the most expensive dark chocolate, big shiny guns and suitcases full of money, with his hacking emergency.

Mello had expected that their visit to L was going to be cool, but instead of it being even remotely pleasant, L had barked at them in barely masked annoyance as if they were two complete idiots (and yeah, Mello should have left Matt go and fix this on his own, because now it seemed as if Mello had something to do with Matt's mistakes, and it wasn't a case. Matt had screwed up, but Mello took a part of the blame, just for being there.)

And his idol had made them work like slaves all night in order to manually scramble up the Internet connection. He had made Matt recode the encryption, while Mello had to carry servers around an the ice-cold basement and be L's bitch for the night, changing parts around while L just kept commanding him what to do.

Then L had demonstrated his power and awesomeness by just dialling some numbers and arranging that their signal apparently came from someone in Edinburg who was using Whammy's House as a proxy to hide his identity.

Then L had said that he was leaving, because he expected the Russian CIA to send agents to check what's going on in the house, so he couldn't stay there. He also said he'll be taking everyone's personal computer and other incriminating items and dumping them in the secret server basement.

Matt had almost gone crazy and had begged that he keeps his laptop at least for offline gaming. L had agreed to that.

And finally that was it – at least a month without personal Internet browsing or L. Mello wondered what else would come out of Matt's mistake.

Suddenly Matt's head snapped back up.

"What the hell?"

"Hmm?"

"The internet is back! Someone hacked us!"

…

One sprint up to L's room later, Matt was panting in horror and disbelief.

"It's impossible! No one can go through what I put! I don't understand! They have to be in the house, L, they have to have someone in the house to do that!" Matt was screaming.

L stood frozen, staring at the teen, and even Whammy looked up from his task of packing up the detective's stuff for their emergency departure.

"What's all the commotion about?" Light Yagami, the brunette Japanese man appeared behind Matt at the door. He was snacking on an apple and looking all-too-important.

Matt pursed his lips tightly, unsure what this outsider knew and what would give out too much information.

"Do you have any idea why the Internet is back up, Yagami-kun?" L asked in his usual infallibly calm tone.

"Of course," Light tossed the hair out of his face in one proud, arrogant gesture, tilting his chin up and giving everyone a superior look. "I turned it back on. Was that some sort of a test?"

Matt felt his expression twist into a grimace of "are-you-kidding-me-this-guy-got-over-my-encryption".

"Can you, by any chance, restore it to its original settings right now," L said in a tone that sounded more like a command than a question.

"No, not immediately, why?" Light asked and quirked up one too-elegant eyebrow. "And why are you so pissed anyway?"

"You just put into danger the fate of this whole institution," L said, the coldness of his voice gone completely as he readjusted his emotionless mask.

Matt saw that Light had been right – that had been L when pissed off. But since when did this Japanese man know L so well?

"For the second time in the past 12 hours," L added as his piercing black eyes shifted to Matt and the teenager felt cold sweat form on the skin just above his temples.

Light still looked unimpressed. Matt wasn't certain if he was beginning to really dislike the caramel-haired bastard or if he was starting to think that Light was actually pretty cool.

"Well," L said tilting his head to the side with a bored expression. "I guess that means that we'll have to do it all over again now, doesn't it? Matt, you know what to do. Yagami-kun, come with me!"

It was like a deja vu seeing L quickly exit the room and rush to the underground server basement, leaving a stunned Light Yagami to gape after him.

"And leave the apple, you will need your hands!" L called from somewhere far away.

"Better do as he says and hurry after him, I'm telling ya," Matt said to Light amiably.

Light turned his sharp brown eyes to Matt and the red-haired teenager studied their intensity for just a second, in which the duo evaluated each other. The staring contest could have lasted a lot longer, but the Japanese man dismissed him and tossed the half-eaten fruit in the nearby trash bin. Then he followed L with wide, decisive strides, but without running.

'That guy takes himself very seriously, doesn't he,' Matt thought as he watched him leave.

"Who is he?" Matt turned to Whammy, the old geezer who apparently had founded the institution, raised and trained L and was now performing as the detective's butler.

"Light Yagami," Whammy said as he straightened his old back and turned to Matt with a grandfatherly smile.

"I know his name, but where did L find him," Matt emphasised on the word 'find' as he meant how the hell did L dig up something like that.

"In Japan, during L's last big investigation," Whammy said and Matt gave up. He should have known he'd never get any useful information from L's right hand man. 

"Don't you have an assignment, young man?"

"Ah," Matt stared at Whammy. Had the old guy just told him to fuck off and do what L had told him (reprogram and re-encrypt the connection to the Internet)? Yes, that's exactly what had been said in a very polite manner.

"Certainly, sir, but I have at least half an hour before the connection is ready for my intervention. L and Light have to go do the manual work first. Until then, I shall reside in my chambers," Matt said in mock-politeness and with an exaggerated bow, he left for his room.

Boy, he had so much work ahead of him…

…

After a series of secret doors and codes, the kind that Light had though only existed in sci-fi, the duo finally descended a few flights of stairs down a dimly lit, round metallic staircase, which lead deeper and deeper underground.

They ended up in a small corridor, which ended with a large thermo-isolated door. L punched in some numbers as Light gave a small shiver behind him. It was pretty cold, however it wasn't half as cold as the room, which was revealed when the door unlocked and L swung it opened.

In front of them there was a large, dark pit-hole of a room. Light's unadjusted eyes couldn't make out anything that was in there, not the height of the ceiling, nor the walls.

L didn't bother to turn on any lights, instead produced a small flashlight from seemingly nowhere and switched it on to look around as he lead the way inside. Light followed him into the room, careful to follow just behind the detective, as he didn't want to run into any objects. However, to his surprise, the place felt rather large and spacious and as they continued walking freely further inside, leaving the small gleaming doorway behind, Light began wondering just how big this 'basement' under Whammy's House was, and what exactly was it hiding.

Light found out that his eyes were adjusting to the almost complete darkness and soon he began noticing the faint lights which were seemingly everywhere, and as he followed the small patch of illumination, which L's flashlight produced as he clicked it on and off to look about for a second before turning it back off, Light realised that what they were walking into was a large room full of rolls upon rolls of shelves, packed with server computers.

The tiny flashing light-diodes, which each machine had, provided enough illumination in order for the duo to make their way in the dusk, and when Light was completely adjusted to the pitch-dark, the tiny lights made the hall look as if it was full of multi-coloured fireflies.

As if they were in a maze of tiny, flashing fireflies.

The monotonous buzz of hundreds of inbuilt fans kind of ruined the magic, and the air was so cold and crisp that Light ruled out any possibility of that anything living could be hiding in the dark corners of this room. Which wasn't an entirely bad thing.

As they walked between the flickering shelves, Light felt a slight breeze from above and he glanced up to barely make out a dark ventilation shaft over his head. The room really felt impressively big and Light's head was beginning to spin from rolls and rolls of equipment that seemed to continue into nothingness. Just when he was beginning to feel claustrophobic and rather vulnerable despite having memorized the exact way back, L stopped.

Light focused his attention on the quick, jittery flashes which L made here and there with his flash-light, and it took the younger man a few moments of concentration to notice the small braille inscribed plates, which each server had.

The labelling system was very clever, because an unsuspecting intruder wouldn't have noticed the small inscriptions, thus would have lost a great deal of time finding what they needed in such large room of servers. As far as Light could see, there were no other forms of identification to the machines.

Furthermore, for added bonus, if someone who knew about the inscription was trapped there without a flashlight, they could easily find their way around with the use of their fingertips alone.

L read the code just by glancing at it, apparently. Light felt a bit impressed, and made a note to learn to do that as well.

"Here," L stopped. He motioned at one of the machines.

"What?" Light asked.

"We need to replace this one," L said. "Take it out, Light-kun."

Light huffed in irritation, finally realising why L had brought him there. It was to carry the equipment of course, because no way in hell the lazy detective was ever going to do anything by himself.

"And careful," L added as Light just gritted his teeth and got round to the task without protesting. However, L's comment ticked him off.

"Why don't you help me out?" Light suggested as mildly as he could.

"I'm holding the flashlight and telling you what to do," L said impassively. "Doesn't that count as helping you out?"

"Not really," Light said as he unscrewed a few cables from behind the computer. "You are not even illuminating what I really need to see."

"Oh, I'm sorry," L said.

Chills ran down Light's spine as very suddenly, out of nowhere, L stepped just behind him and leaned over to illuminate the space behind the server computer where Light was working.

"Is that better?" L asked as if he wasn't so intimately close to Light.

"Yes," the younger man said between tightly ground teeth as he grinned insincerely and continued doing his work. "That is absolutely much better. I see a whole lot more now, L."

"You are welcome," L said just mere centimetres away from Light's ear, making the brunette shudder.

Of course, either the detective was doing it on purpose to piss Light off, or he was truly unaware of the concept of personal space. Two could play that game though.

Without a warning, Light moved backwards, pulling the server off the shelf. His elbow "accidentally" shoved the detective's chest and the man stumbled back, with a breathy groan. However, both of men pretended that nothing had occurred and Light just turned around holding the computer in his arms.

"Where do I carry this?" he asked.

"There are a few more…" L said slightly breathlessly, as he had the air punched out of him.

"Aw?"

They walked a bit, Light carrying the heavy equipment in his arms.

"Are you sure there isn't a tray or something?" Light asked as he followed L through some more shelves.

"We don't generally do what we're doing today," L said. "And we wouldn't provide any possible intruders with trays to facilitate their ordeals down here."

"Why are we doing this anyway? I get what we're about to do, but I don't understand why do we have to do it. Why had you banned all the computers from the internet in the first place?"

"Light-kun asks too many questions," L said calmly. "Here, this one. You can put that one down, Light-kun."

L turned the flashlight to illuminate Light's face and see his expression properly for a second, managing to capture the hateful glare, which the brunette had been sending him in that moment.

"Aren't you going to illuminate for me, L," Light asked as he got to work at the back of the machine again.

"Only if Light-kun warns me before he moves back," L said, closing in on Light at the invitation.

"As long as you warn me before you decide to come breathe down my neck next time," Light said.

This time L was standing a step further than the previous time, as if he couldn't be quite so certain if Light was going to roughly shove an elbow in his gut again.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Light-kun?" L asked.

Light suddenly abandoned what he was doing and turned around to face L, who was a mere foot away. The flashlight was still pointed to the back of the shelf, but the tiny blinking lights coming from the light-diodes of the servers around them provided enough illumination to see the detective's face in the darkness.

"Not at all, or wait…" Light tilted his head to the side a tiny fraction and narrowed his eyes. "Were you trying to make me uncomfortable?"

"What if I was," L said and suddenly Light snapped and shoved the other man back, until L hit the opposing roll of shelves, making the whole thing shake.

L carefully picked himself up and stood right in front of Light.

"Light-kun should be more careful, this is some delicate equipment that he could have damaged," L's voice was low and full of warning.

With that L couldn't resist and did something rather childish. He pointed the bright light of the flashlight straight at Light's face, succeeding to irritate and anger the brunette even more.

L could see Light's eyes cringe as he purposefully tortured him with the bright light.

"You are doing this on purpose, aren't you," Light growled and tried to grab L's wrist, but L had the advantage of seeing Light, while the brunette was blinded.

The detective easily evaded Light's attacks and circled around him, trying to get the best angle to grab and subdue the younger man.

It all happened really quickly after that, Light lunged forward, shoving L sideways against a shelve, and L, who didn't have the room to kick, punched him in the face. However, once Light's hands were on both of L's shoulders and the detective was trapped against the servers it became too easy.

"Careful! Servers!" was all L managed to say before Light head-butted him in the face.

Next thing he knew they were on the floor.

Pain was exploding everywhere in his head and his back hurt from the collision with the cold concrete floor. Light's jutting knees and bones were digging into his body and the flashlight was rolling on the floor, making it difficult to see what was happening. Light was just raising an arm to deliver another blow when L spoke.

"Enough," L said, feeling the blood on his lips fly off as he spoke.

Light stopped just a second before delivering another punch.

"We can't fight here, and there is something urgent that we should be doing," L added in a sober tone. "We can settle this later."

"Alright," Light said and got up from the detective.

…

It was awkward after that as they collected two more server computers, and L ended up taking one of them in his arms, but no polite words were exchanged. Finally they carried the equipment to an adjustment room, which actually had overhead lighting and they switched some parts of the serves before they were ready to return them.

L noticed the angry red patch on Light's cheekbone, which surely was going to bruise. It felt inexplicably good to know that he had left that there. For when Light looked into the mirror to see his gorgeous features, he was going to also see the mark which L's fist had left on him. And that idea felt kind of nice.

Light also stole his glances of L's bloodied mouth. He had split L's bottom lip with his blow and when the detective talked he could see the blood on his teeth. Light wondered how did L feel. Surely the pain wasn't something, L, the great and overprotected detective had ever felt before. Light was glad that he had done it to him. This way L was really going to remember him.

Once they were done with the servers, going back to the cold dark room was even more awkward as the tension quickly escalated. The flashlight was on again and Light felt irritated just thinking of how L had pointed it in his eyes.

L gave Light the last server and the brunette got to work as L illuminated from a distance.

The younger man had reacted rather adversely to L's closeness, which had been a very bad sign. However, at least L had tested his theory. The results had been very disappointing, to say the least, and there was always the probability that perhaps testing for any signs of possible attraction in Light, in another way or under other circumstances might have given different results. However, it had been convenient to test it the way he had, because L knew he could get away with making it seem as if he was just trying to annoy the other man.

The fight had been a bit more than he had anticipated though. It really didn't bode well in terms of Light's feelings towards him. However, at least L had learned something new about his possible partner in work.

Light was more violent and short-tempered than he let out. Light could really snap, and it went beyond the shouting and anger-fits, which the detective had witnessed before. Most people would do pretty much anything to avoid getting into fights, however Light wasn't one of them. And that suggested quite a lot more about his personality and what he might be capable of…

"Are we done?" Light stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked at L as if he had been standing like that for an hour.

L had spaced out yet again…

"Yes, let's go. Does Light-kun remember the way," L said, suddenly turning off the flashlight and leaving them in the dark.

"Is that another test, L?" Light's voice was close to him in the almost absolute darkness.

L could make out Light's silhouette because of the blinking blue lights behind him, however he couldn't see the brunette's angelic face. And without that feat, something about Light could actually be rather intimidating.

However, L wasn't who he was because he was easily intimidated. He was always in control and he made the rules. He had to show that to Light.

"Yes, it is." L answered calmly.

He could see Light make small movements in front of him, but stood his ground.

"Aren't you a bit sick of testing me today," Light's voice was low. "It's been either this or that, layers upon layers of tests, and things that are not supposed to be tests, that turn into tests. And what's with all the secrecy? What the hell is this place and why did we do what we just did?"

L didn't answer. His heart raced in anticipation and he lowered his stance just in case Light decided to attack him again.

"Is that your answer," Light asked, and L wondered if he was referring to the lack of such or had he noticed L's change in position despite the darkness?

"You should have known that nothing is as it seems in this field you signed up for," L said. "I thought you had more foresight than that. Or are you a child who has naively walked down a path you don't understand?"

"I understand the field very well," Light said. "However, I guess I was mistaken about something. I am beginning to understand now. This is how it's going to be, isn't it, L?"

L wished he could see Light's expression. He wished he could clap his hands and the lights would come on as they did in the type of hotels he preferred…

However, there were no overhead lights installed in the server hall, which was cold and dark for the purpose of keeping the machines in perfect condition for years. And he couldn't see Light's expression, and for once he didn't and had no assumption of what the other was thinking or referring to. What he really meant.

But, L was too proud to ask.

"Yes," he said decisively.

"Good." Light said, his tone very much like L's.

There was silence for a moment.

"Yes, I do remember the way," Light added offhandedly. "See you there, L."

With that Light turned away and lead the way through the darkness. L just followed in silence, wondering what exactly had he agreed about.

He felt that he could say something, which would fix whatever was happening between them, but he couldn't. His ego wouldn't let him.

He made excuses for himself, how he couldn't risk their security by letting Light in and telling him more. He couldn't be honest with the younger man. He couldn't trust anybody. Even Light, no matter how much he liked him.

…

Meanwhile Mello went to dinner and in the dinning hall the spaces on both his sides were empty, as usually he sat only with Matt and no other orphan dared to approach the duo.

However, to his surprise, suddenly a certain white-haired nightmare appeared out of nowhere to disturb him.

"Hi," Near said simply as he collapsed on the seat right next to the blonde.

"Piss off," Mello gave him a dangerous look and placed his arms around his plate possessively. His hostile glare should have been enough to send the little albino boy away crying, but it didn't seem to faze Near even a little bit.

"I was wondering if I could sit with you today," Near said.

"You already have sat next to me and NO, you can't sit here! Fuck off you, little piece of shit!" Mello roared.

Somewhere in the hall the canteen lady called out Mello's alias in warning.

"But I just wanted to talk to you," Near said calmly. "I think you might know more than me about something…"

"Of course I know more than you about it," Mello calmed down considerably at the flattery. "What are you talking about anyway?"

"Do you have any idea what happened to the internet servers today?" Near asked.

"Ah," Mello's smug smile stretched as he regarded the albino boy from up-high. "Poor little Near is totally left out of the loop, isn't he? Well, guess what – you ain't getting anything from me!"

"Hey Mells!" Matt appeared with a tray of food and sat down on Mello's other side. "Socialising with 'the freak'?"

He decided to eat while waiting for L to give him the signal to do his job.

"Not socialising, but the freak has come to annoy me," Mello said, turning away from Near and began gulping down food.

"Where's your food, Near?" Matt asked, noticing that Near hadn't brought a food tray.

"I'm not here to eat," Near said in all seriousness. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened today with the servers?"

"Yeah, well, that was my fault actually…" Matt didn't manage to finish off his sentence because Mello silenced him with his hand rather roughly.

"Don't tell him anything, Matt! He doesn't deserve to know!"

"I deserve to know, just as much as you do," Near said.

"Listen, you little piece of dog shit…" Mello began and then a new insult dawned on him. "Hey Near, do you know what colour does dog poo turn into after a couple of weeks? White! So what are you…"

"I had no idea about that, Mello," Near said. "However, I'm sure you would know as it sounds like a very dog-thing to do - check on the colour of your poo overtime."

Mello turned blue and then completely red with rage. Matt could barely contain him as he tried to jump Near and break his face.

Light and L exited the door of the kitchen, which lead to the hidden doors towards the staircase to the server basement in the precise moment to see a few of Whammy's lecturers trying to subdue Mello. Near just stood there, a mere meter away from the ranging blonde and looking at him straight in the eye as the older boy threatened to kill him.

L gave the scene a look and proceeded to climb the stairs towards the upper floors.

"Aren't you going to do anything about this?" Light asked. He didn't really care, but he wanted to pick on the detective. "The blonde boy worships you – he'd calm down if you tell him."

L gave Light a cold stare from the stairs and then turned away, without an answer.

Light narrowed his eyes and walked away with a shake of his head.

How he hated L. He really, honestly hated him.


End file.
